The Baltimore Ravens are scratching and clawing to reach the playoffs, while the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are in cruise control atop the AFC standings.
Yet Skip Baylees believes the Ravens — yes, the 6-5 team led by struggling veteran quarterback Joe Flacco — pose a major threat to the conference front-runners.
That’s because Baltimore’s defense is, as Bayless put it Tuesday on FS1’s “Undisputed,” the Patriots’ and Steelers’ “kryptonite.”
"The kryptonite to both the Steelers and Patriots is the @Ravens defense." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/ZYs4KXHPIZ
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) November 28, 2017
The Ravens, who defeated the Houston Texans 23-16 on Monday night, rank second in the NFL in points allowed per game (17) behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. They’re seventh in yards allowed per game (305.7) and boast an NFL-best plus-11 turnover differential thanks to a league-high 26 takeaways.
The Ravens’ offense — Flacco, in particular — might need to perform better to ensure Baltimore makes the playoffs, let alone knocks off New England or Pittsburgh. But Bayless clearly is buying into what the Ravens are doing defensively, especially given their track record of success on that side of the ball.
