Ravens Jaguars Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Baltimore Ravens will look to continue their strong start to the season when they go on the road to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football. The Ravens returned from their bye week with a 29-14 win over the Texans. Baltimore has won three straight and sit on top the AFC North at 4-1 overall. Things aren’t going so smoothly for the Jaguars, who dropped to 1-5 with a 13-17 loss at Pittsburgh. Jacksonville hasn’t won since beating the Titans 16-14 in week 1.

Taking a look at the week 7 NFL lines, oddsmakers currently have the Ravens favored by 8-points over the Jaguars with the total set at 39.5 points.

Baltimore Ravens:

The Ravens have are quietly putting together a very strong season. Outside of a letdown loss to Tennessee in week 2, Baltimore has won convincingly in every other game this season. Their five wins have all been decided by at least 15 points. They are averaging 29.6 points a game on offense and are giving up just 14.2 points s game on defense. Last week they could have easily won by 30, as they had to settle for five field goals.

Joe Flacco threw for 305 yards on 20 of 33 passing, but was held without a touchdown for a second straight week. The fact that this team is winning by these kind of margins without Flacco having to do a whole lot really says a lot about this team. I don’t see any reason too be concerned about this, the guy had seven touchdowns in his first three games.

The player that has really made the offense one of the best in the NFL is running back Ray Rice. The fourth year back had 101 yards rushing and 60 yards receiving last week against the Texans. He leads the team with 398 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and is second on the team with 21 catches for 302 yards.

The Jaguars have been surprising good against the pass this season, holding opponents to just 210 yards per game. They haven’t been all that bad against the run either, holding opposing teams to just 115 yards a game. I don’t think it’s strong enough to keep the Ravens from moving the ball, but Baltimore better come to play this week or they could be in trouble.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

While the Jaguars can’t be feeling all that great after losing five in a row, this team has been more competitive than you would think for a team with a 1-5 record. If Jacksonville can get their offense going under rookie Blaine Gabbert, this team will upset some good teams over the course of the season.

The thing is Gabbert hasn’t shown much to get excited about in his four NFL starts. He has completed just 48.8% of his attempts for 717 yards. One positive for Gabbert is he has thrown a touchdown in every game he has started and has just two interceptions. The problem is he will face a Baltimore defense that is one of the best in the game. They have made a living tormenting young quarterbacks.

Jacksonville has been able to run the ball behind veteran Maurice Jones-Drew, who has 572 yards and five touchdowns. Jones-Drew is going to have to be at his best if the Jaguars are going to have any shot at winning this game. The thing is the Ravens will come into this game with a game plan to make sure Jones-Drew doesn’t beat them. I expect them to load the box and force Gabbert to throw the ball. Baltimore is third in the NFL against the run (76.6 ypg) and 7th against the pass (209.6).

Betting Trends:

Baltimore is 15-6 ATS vs. a team with a losing record.

Jacksonville is 3-10 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win in week 7 of the NFL.

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