NFL WEEK 2 GAME OF THE WEEK RAVENS/EAGLES

NFL WEEK 2 GAME OF THE WEEK
BALTIMORE (1-0) VS PHILADELPHIA(1-0)


Many experts have called this game their Superbowl pick or have chosen one or the other to be Superbowl champions this season. This game has all the hype of such a contest and rightfully so. Emotions are riding high as the Baltimore Ravens travel to the city of brotherly love to face Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles.

After Raven quarterback Joe Flacco stated that he was the best quarterback in the league, he came out and played like it as the Ravens dealt a crushing blow to their AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals 44-13 on Monday Night Football. On the other hand, the Eagles had to overcome 5 turnovers and pull out a 4th quarter comeback against a suspect Cleveland Brown team. After a 17-16 win against Cleveland, many are wondering just what the Eagles are made of.

If Michael Vick and the Eagles want to win, he can't throw interceptions. He will be playing a talented secondary again this week after throwing 4 interceptions against a solid Cleveland secondary. Flacco went pass happy against an over rated secondary last week in the Raven's win against the Bengals. The defenses are even in this contest so it will be up to Vick and Flacco to make the difference between a loss and win.

When you look at these two teams, they are closely related. Both teams are great on defense, very physical, and have offensive weapons. This should be a very good game, one that will live up to all the hype. Both the Eagles and Ravens want to run the ball. They both play similar styles, provide the run to open the passing game. It will depend on which team does this the most successful. The winner of this game will be the team that has the most success in the running game.

The Ravens need to get Ray Rice involved more. In their 44-13 win against Cincinnati, Ray Rice only ran the ball 10 times. He rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns. LeSean McCoy ran for 110 yards last week against Cleveland.

Both defenses played very solid in their wins last week. The Eagles allowed 99 yards rushing, but only allowed 111 through the air. The Ravens gave up 129 yards on the ground and 193 through the passing game. The Eagle offense managed 456 total yards and the Ravens managed 430 total yards. Both teams played defenses that ranked in the top 7 last season.

This is going to be a very physical game. The Eagles have the home field advantage as Baltimore is not as dominant of a team on the road. However, this Raven offense may be the best they ever put on the field. Philadelphia made Cleveland look better then they are last week and Baltimore showed up a solid Bengal squad. This game is a toss up, but I believe Baltimore is the better team at this point in the season.

Baltimore 23 Philadelphia 20