Here is who national experts are predicting will win Chiefs-Ravens game
The NFL’s weekend appetizers are over. Now it’s time for the main course.
The Chiefs and Ravens were the top two teams in the AFC a year ago, and Kansas City was the Super Bowl champions.
Those teams will face off tonight on one of the bigger “Monday Night Football” matchups in recent memory.
Forty-five experts from around the nation made predictions for the game. Here are the picks and what they’re saying about the game, which starts at 7:15 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN and KMBC (Ch. 9).
Four of eight CBS Sports experts believe the Chiefs will win: John Breech, Will Brinson, Jason La Canfora and Pete Prisco. Going with the Ravens is Ryan Wilson, Jared Dubin, Dave Richard and Jamey Eisenberg. Prisco sees a 34-31 Chiefs victory. This is part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs are playing consecutive road games. They also haven’t looked great on offense yet. They will in this one. Baltimore is aggressive on defense, which plays into what Patrick Mahomes loves to face. The champs will win a fun shootout as Mahomes gets the best of Lamar Jackson.”
The Ravens will win 35-30 says Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. This is a snippet of what he wrote: “Tough game to pick. Patrick Mahomes as an underdog feels like a crime against humanity, yet there’s no question the Ravens have looked like the NFL’s best team early. They pass the numbers test and the eye test. The Chiefs are 2-0 without having their offense in gear. Thirty quarterbacks have more completions of 20-plus yards than Mahomes (3), including Jeff Driskel . The Chiefs rank 17th in yards per play (5.7), and their offensive line has looked ordinary.”
Six NFL.com writers made picks and four went with the Ravens: Colleen Wolfe, Marcus Grant, Nick Shook and Daniel Jeremiah. Taking the Chiefs: Adam Rank and Maurice Jones-Drew.
A 33-27 Ravens win is the pick from Tadd Haislop of the Sporting News. This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “The Ravens have looked better than the Chiefs thus far in 2020, so we’ll take the home team. Kansas City obviously will be fine in the long run should it drop this one in Week 3.”
The Ravens are picked to win by Mike Florio and Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Smith sees a 28-21 final score. This is part of what he wrote: “I’ll pick Lamar Jackson to make one more big play than Patrick Mahomes.” Florio, who is predicting a 27-24 score, wrote: “If the Kansas City defense was shredded by a rookie in his first start, it could be facing even more problems against the defending MVP, whose passing keeps getting better and better.”
A Chiefs victory is the pick from four of six Bleacher Report writers. Gary Davenport, Brad Gagnon, Kalyn Kahler and Brent Sobleksi see KC prevailing. Going with the Ravens: Matt Miller and Master Tesfatsion. Sobleski wrote in part: “Baltimore may be the better team right now, but there’s no reason whatsoever to bet against Patrick Mahomes and Co., when they’ve shown time and again they can score with anyone and come back from any deficit.”
Six of seven writers at USA Today went with the Ravens: Jarrett Bell (27-24 final score), Nate Davis (37-31), Jori Epstein (38-33), Mike Jones (33-30), Lorenzo Reyes (28-23) and Tom Schad (30-24). The lone choice for the Chiefs: Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (28-27).
Five of the eight experts at ESPN forecast a Ravens victory: Mike Clay, Mina Kimes, Dan Graziano, Kevin Seifert and Seth Wickersham. Picking the Chiefs: Matt Bowen, Jason Reid and Trey Wingo.
Half of the six Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback writers picked the Chiefs: Connor Orr, Gary Gramling and Mitch Goldich. Baltimore was the choice for Albert Breer, Andrew Brandt and Jenny Vrentas.
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 9:16 AM.
