First Half Look For The Chiefs Vs Ravens

Chiefs vs. Ravens, 3:00 ET

It is the NFL's wet dream, right? They get the opportunity to get Taylor Swift to the Super Bowl (after multiple years of her saying no to the halftime show) if the Chiefs make it, and they get the MVP of the league in the Super Bowl if the Ravens make it. In addition, they could have one brother win the Super Bowl and the other (now an NFL coach after accepting the job with the Chargers) win the NCAA title in the same year. Yes, this is the matchup the NFL benefits most from as the Chiefs take on the Ravens.

The Chiefs pulled it off. I have to give credit where credit is due and the Chiefs were able to go into Buffalo, get the stops when they needed it, and make their offense look reminiscent of past years. Were they aided by a bit of luck? Of course. If Tyler Bass makes a field goal that he would normally make we might be talking about the Bills finally getting over the Chiefs hump. I, along with 50+ million others, watched that game and had some thoughts. The first main thought was the Chiefs could be in for a ton of punishment on the ground. They allowed 182 rushing yards and two touchdowns to the Bills. Josh Allen is a strong runner, but so is Lamar Jackson. They are different runners with Allen being more physical and Jackson being more elusive, but this isn't a good sign for a Chiefs defense that has kept them relevant most of this season. The Ravens don't need to win with the passing game, and the Chiefs are very good in the pass defense, so there will need to be some adjustments. On offense, the Chiefs looked scary again. Mahomes targeted Rashee Rice only four times, but he caught them all. I expect him to look Rice's way much more frequently in this contest. Travis Kelce was able to capitalize on the Bills having injury issues in their linebacker space.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 13: (L-R) Isiah Pacheco #10, Travis Kelce #87 and Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs stand on the field before the AFC Wild Card Playoffs against the Miami Dolphins at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 13, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Ravens made relatively quick work of the Texans in the last game as they coasted in the second half to an easy victory. It looked like they might struggle in the first half of the game, but they took care of business and won by 24 points, holding their opponent to just 10 points. Their defense has been outstanding all season. The most points they allowed in a game this season was 33 to Cleveland. Outside of that, they have allowed 30 or more just once. Since that loss to the Browns, the defense has allowed 20, 10, 31, 7, 19, 19, 17, and 10 points to opponents. That works out to an average of 16.6 points per game. They are going to make it very difficult on Mahomes to get into any rhythm. They can stop the pass, they know the opportune times to blitz, and really don't have many holes on their defense. On offense, this is probably the best defense that Jackson has faced this season. Maybe the 49ers or Browns fans would have something to say about that, but the Chiefs have been masking their coverage well this season and I think have an edge there.

The truth is that the Ravens are the best team in football right now. They've played great for weeks, they don't have any glaring weaknesses that can be exploited either. Jackson has been outstanding under center for them and likely will be the MVP. Betting against Mahomes is never a fun endeavor and I paid for it last week. I think the Chiefs can keep it close, so I lean to the Ravens to win, but the Chiefs +4. However, I expect the game to go under the 44.5, but I think this will be a game where they try to figure things out in the first half and see what the defenses are doing before making adjustments. I'll take under 22.5 in the first half of this game.

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