Month: September 2022

The Ravens’ over/under wins total is set at 9.5 this upcoming season. Baltimore is the AFC North favorites at SI Sportsbook.

The Ravens will attempt in 2022 to rebound from only the second losing season under John Harbaugh. Harbaugh, who is 137-88 (.609) in his 14 seasons at the helm and won a Super Bowl, has guided Baltimore to nine playoff appearances.

Following an 8-9 season, the club hopes healthy seasons from Lamar Jackson, J.K. Dobbins and Ronnie Stanley lead to a fifth AFC North crown for Harbaugh.

However, there has been some concerning news recently that Dobbins and Gus Edwards will both not be ready to contribute early in the year. Edwards has been placed on the PUP list and there is concern Dobbins (ACL) will not be ready to play in the season opener against the Jets The backfield injuries led to the club signing Kenyan Drake this past week to split work with veteran Mike Davis.

AFC East Over/Under Wins Total: BUF | NE | MIA | NYJ | Division Odds
NFC East Over/Under Wins Total: DAL | PHI | WSH | NYG | Division Odds
AFC South Over/Under Wins Total: TEN | IND | HOU | JAX | Division Odds
NFC South Over/Under Wins Total: TB | NO | ATL | CAR | Division Odds
AFC West Over/Under Wins Total: KC | LV | LAC | DEN | Division Odds
NFC West Over/Under Wins Total: LAR | ARZ | SF | SEA | Division Odds
NFC North Over/Under Wins Total: GB | MIN | CHI | DET | Division Odds
AFC North Over/Under Wins Total: CIN | PIT | CLE

Losing Stanley last season proved to be one of the biggest reasons for the Ravens underachieving. The All-Pro left tackle played in Week 1 before being shut down for the season with an ankle injury. The injury, which originally happened in the 2020 season, hindered Baltimore’s offensive production.

SI Sportsbook has Ravens (+140) listed as the favorites to win the AFC North ahead of the Bengals (+160), Browns (+360) and Steelers (+800).

Bettors must determine if a motivated Jackson, who is entering a contract year, can lead the team to more than nine wins?

Bet on the NFL at SI Sportsbook

Baltimore Ravens Over/Under: 9.5 – O (-167) | U (+130)

2021-2022 record: 8-9; Fourth AFC North; Missed playoffs
AFC North future odds: +140 (First)
AFC future odds: +900 (Fifth)
Super Bowl future odds: +1800 (Tied-ninth)

Key additions: OL Morgan Moses, S Marcus Williams, RB Kenyan Drake
Key losses: WR Marquise Brown, WR Sammy Watkins, C Bradley Bozeman
Key rookies: S Kyle Hamilton, C Tyler Linderbaum

Raven Country Offseason Grade: B

The Ravens signed Williams, Moses and Pierce. They re-signed Campbell, who has been stellar over the past two seasons. The Ravens will move forward with a young group of wide receivers headlined by second-year player Rashod Bateman, who emerged as their most dependable wideout by the end of the season. The Ravens added 11 draft picks, including a pair of first-rounders in Hamilton and Linderbaum. Both of those players are expected to start as rookies and make an immediate impact. The Ravens also picked up David Ojabo, who was a first-round pick before he blew out his Achilles during his pro day. Baltimore was able to grab Ojabo in the second round and he is expected to be back on the field at some point during the season.—Todd Karpovich

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2022 Baltimore Ravens Schedule

Week 1: At Jets
Week 2: Dolphins
Week 3: At Patriots
Week 4: Bills
Week 5: Bengals (SNF)
Week 6: At Giants
Week 7: Browns
Week 8: At Buccaneers (TNF)
Week 9: At Saints (MNF)
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Panthers
Week 12: At Jaguars
Week 13: Broncos
Week 14: At Steelers
Week 15: At Browns
Week 16: Falcons
Week 17: Steelers
Week 18: At Bengals

Baltimore begins the 2022 season playing the entire AFC East, commencing with a Week 1 game against a Jets squad that likely will start backup quarterback Joe Flacco. The Ravens opened as four-point road favorites but have steamed up to a full touchdown (-7) demand. According to my Vegas sources, Baltimore is one of the biggest liabilities for sportsbooks as one of the top teaser targets.

In Week 2, the Ravens will host Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins in their home opener. Baltimore has been installed as early four-point favorites over Miami.

NFL Awards Betting: Coach | Comeback Player | Defensive Rookie | Offensive Rookie | Defensive Player | Offensive Player

Jackson leads Baltimore into Foxboro the next week to face Mac Jones and the Patriots. The Patriots are 8-2 against the Ravens at home including the playoffs, and oddsmakers have the game listed as a “coin flip” with a pick’em spread.

Over the next two weeks, Harbaugh’s squad will face daunting home matchups against the Bills and Bengals. Josh Allen and the high-powered Bills invade M&T Bank Stadium as small 1.5-point road favorites. The Ravens are 5-1 all-time at home versus Buffalo but will be hard pressed to extend that dominance.

The Week 5 Sunday Night Football showdown with Joe Burrow and the Bengals finds a 1.5-point spread. After dropping five straight meetings against the Ravens, Cincinnati swept the season series, including against the spread, in 2021.

A road trip in Week 6 to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants is followed by a home date with AFC North rival Cleveland in Week 7. Both games find the Ravens favored and are two very attainable victories. Baltimore is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings with the Browns and will be facing quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

RB Props: Rushing Yds | Rushing TD | Taylor | CMC | Ekeler | Harris
QB Props: Passing Yards | Passing TD | Brady | Herbert | Allen
WR Props: Receiving Yards | Receiving TD | Kupp | Jefferson | Adams | Hill
TE Props: Kelce | Andrews

Prior to its bye, Baltimore will head on the road as underdogs for two primetime games against the Buccaneers (+3.5) and Saints (+2). Those two NFC South games could potentially send the club into their bye on a losing streak.

Coming out of their Week 10 break, the Ravens find a soft stretch in the schedule against two last-place teams. They’re favored by six-points over the Panthers, followed by being installed as five-point road favorites against the Jaguars.

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After a home date with the Russell Wilson-led Broncos as small 1.5-point home favorites, the Ravens play four of their last five games against AFC North rivals.

Among that final stretch is a home-and-home against the Steelers, who begin the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. Pittsburgh has won four straight in the rivalry and eight of 11. The Steelers are 4-1 in the last five home meetings, but could find an issue improving upon that record with either Mitchell Trubisky or Kenny Pickett.

Baltimore is favored in 12 of 17 games (71%) and is only listed as a home underdog once (versus Buffalo). I find 10-plus wins for the Ravens, which would result in winning double-digit games for the fourth time in five seasons.

However, the juice (-167) on backing over 9.5 games lands this market as a lean as opposed to an official bet. Due to potential injuries, as we witnessed last season to Dobbins and Jackson, results in the “juice not being worth the squeeze”.

LEAN: Over 9.5 (-167) regular-season wins

Frankie Taddeo is a successful high-stakes fantasy football player who created the first-ever DFS program ever offered in a Las Vegas sportsbook. Frankie is SI Betting’s Senior Analyst and provides his significant experience and resources in the sports betting scene. You can follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankie_Fantasy for his latest betting and fantasy insights from Las Vegas.

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Check the Latest Odds from SI Sportsbook

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Ohio State’s star quarterback is making sure his teammates are ready for game day.

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As the star quarterback of one of college football’s best teams, CJ Stroud is no stranger to NIL deals that have flooded the sport over the past year. On Thursday, Stroud revealed to his teammates that he had a special gift for them ahead of Saturday’s season opener against No. 5 Notre Dame.

Stroud has used his partnership with Express, a national fashion retailer headquartered in Columbus, to give $500 gift cards to every Ohio State football player for a new suit. He made the announcement on Thursday, which was met with great applause and fanfare from the rest of the team.

Stroud, along with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Nijgba, partnered with Express back in April as the company’s first-ever college athlete ambassadors. The company also holds deals with NBA players Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Trae Young and Jamal Murray.

“This is a truly authentic connection,” Express’ chief marketing officer Sara Tervo said, per Dan Eaton of Columbus Business First. “We were talking internally about our style ambassadors so we reached out to see if there was an opportunity.”

Ohio State enters the season ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll. Kickoff for Saturday’s matchup with the Irish is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

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• The Pressure’s on at Ohio State. That’s How Ryan Day Likes It.
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For more Ohio State coverage, go to Buckeyes Now. 

The GOAT continues to stand tall in Tampa while the rest of the division scrambles for a semblance of order.

No division in football has undergone more upheaval than the NFC South, where every team will enter the 2022 season with either a new head coach or a new projected starting quarterback. The team with the greatest claim to stability? It’s the one whose coach and Hall of Fame tight end retired—and whose quarterback retired, too, only to reverse course after 40 days, and then took a chunk of the summer off.

The Bucs’ change at the top should not be that radical, because Todd Bowles had been Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator for three seasons before he was promoted to replace head coach Bruce Arians. And Tom Brady, 45, is the ultimate stabilizer. Any hand-wringing over his age seems foolish given his continued level of excellence; last year he threw for a career-high 5,316 yards. But it is fair to wonder whether he will be affected by the retirement of Rob Gronkowski and the questionable status of receiver Chris Godwin, who tore his ACL last December and will likely miss time early in the season, or by season-ending injuries to two interior linemen, center Ryan Jensen and left guard Aaron Stinnie. The NFL’s fifth-best scoring defense returns largely intact, with the only change of note being that veteran free agent Akiem Hicks replaces Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line.

New Orleans will be led by someone other than Sean Payton for the first time in 15 seasons, but the team is not simply tearing down and starting over under new coach Dennis Allen, promoted from defensive coordinator. When they lost veteran safeties Marcus Williams (to free agency) and Malcolm Jenkins (to retirement), the Saints went out and added replacements in Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye. The defense, the team’s strength, is still loaded with veteran talent, including two 30-something All-Pros, linebacker Demario Davis and edge rusher Cam Jordan. On offense New Orleans replaced another free-agent loss, tackle Terron Armstead, by trading for a second first-round pick and grabbing Trevor Penning of Northern Iowa. While the receiving corps should be strong, with a Michael Thomas returning and being joined by Chris Olave, the speedy 11th pick from Ohio State, and new slot man Jarvis Landry, quarterback is a question. Jameis Winston tore his ACL in October; backing him up is recent Bears discard Andy Dalton.

The Panthers should have a new starting QB after acquiring Baker Mayfield from the Browns on July 6. Even though Cleveland chose to move on from the top pick of the 2018 draft, Mayfield is just two seasons removed from a career year with the Browns, and he’ll have plenty to work with in receivers D.J. Moore and Robbie Anderson, as well as Christian McCaffrey as a pass-catching force out of the backfield. It will be up to Carolina’s new offensive coordinator, former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, to get the parts working.

The Falcons seem to be setting up shop in the division’s basement, especially after a humiliating divorce from 14-season starter Matt Ryan following the team’s failure to acquire Deshaun Watson, the subject of more than two dozen accounts of sexual harrasment and sexual assault when the Falcons were pursuing him. So Marcus Mariota, who had been a Raiders backup the last two seasons, reunites with coach Arthur Smith, his former offensive coordinator in Tennessee. If Mariota falters, Smith could bench him (as he eventually did with the Titans) for third-round rookie Desmond Ridder of Cincinnati. The good news in otherwise-bleak Atlanta is that 21-year-old tight end Kyle Pitts and 23-year-old cornerback A.J. Terrell have a chance to be perennial All-Pros.

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SI’S PROJECTED STANDINGS

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13–4
Best Case: The defense carries the team early as the offense finds its footing with two new receivers (Russell Gage and Julio Jones), and Brady has all the parts working by the time the playoffs arrive. The quarterback makes his 11th Super Bowl start.
Worst Case: Anything short of a Super Bowl victory is a disappointment for a Brady-led team, which is why a second straight divisional-round loss doesn’t go over well. Brady’s second free-agency tour (Miami? San Francisco?) unofficially starts in January.

2. New Orleans Saints: 9–8
Best Case: The defense is spectacular all year and delivers two more dominant performances against Brady’s Bucs (Allen is 4–1 against them). Thomas returns to All-Pro form, helping Winston and the offense, and the Saints have a wild-card spot wrapped up by Week 17.
Worst Case: Payton’s absence looms as large as Drew Brees’s did last year (and continues to do so). Winston forces throws into coverage and deals out interceptions in bunches. Their defense’s stellar season is wasted, and the Saints decide to tear it all down heading into 2023.

3. Carolina Panthers: 5–12
Best Case: Carolina starts 3–0 for a second straight year, but this time it sustains that success. The young defense takes the next step, but the big story is the odd couple of Mayfield and McAdoo; the QB and coordinator revive their careers as the Panthers clinch a wild-card spot.
Worst Case: Mayfield, like Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold before him, proves he’s not the long-term answer in Carolina. And the next Panthers quarterback will be selected by a different coach and general manager as owner David Tepper cleans house after the season.

4. Atlanta Falcons: 3–14
Best Case: They don’t have the right pieces, but the Falcons do have a roster that competes and steals a half dozen wins. WR Drake London is the Offensive Rookie of the Year, while Ridder starts and impresses in three late-season victories, earning the No. 1 job heading into 2023.
Worst Case: The Falcons are winless heading into December and at risk of becoming the first 0–17 team in NFL history. Their first victory, in a home game against the Steelers, comes in a near-empty stadium; the fan base seems more invested in Ryan’s run in Indy.

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