Monday Night Football Picks: Baltimore Ravens at Green Bay Packers

Monday Night Football Picks - Analysis for Green Bay:
The Packers come in well rested after an easy win last Thursday against the Lions. As the current holder of one of the NFC Wild Cards, this is a big game for them. The home crowd should be extra loud because it's a Monday Night game. So far this season Aaron Rodgers has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in football and he has found a new favorite target this season in Donald Driver. The Packers have 2 key injuries on their defense with CB Al Harris and DE Aaron Kampman both out for the season. Green Bay has just 1 win against a team with a winning record so far. They rank 4th against the rush and 7th against the pass.

Monday Night Football Picks - Analysis for Baltimore:
The Ravens come into this game off a must win victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in over time. Baltimore is also right in the thick of things for a Wild Card and they need this game to keep pace with the rest of the AFC. They have 1 key injury on defense to LB Terrell Suggs. All 5 of Baltimore's losses have come to teams that have a winning record and are more than likely going to go to the playoffs. Three of their wins have come against teams with winning records including Denver and San Diego. They rank 6th against the rush and 12th against the pass.

Monday Night Football Picks - Head to Head Analysis:
The overall stats so far this season favor Green Bay. However, the Packers have also had a pretty favorable schedule which has helped inflate some of the their overall rankings. On Monday Night, the Packers will likely not be able to run the ball very well against the Ravens defense. Therefore, the key to the Packers moving the ball will be passing it early and often . If Green Bay becomes too one dimensional, it will allow the Ravens to pass rush Aaron Rodgers, who has been hit and sacked more than any other quarterback in the league. On the other side, the Ravens will probably find more success on the ground with running back Ray Rice. The Packers should put the first priority on stopping Rice and leave it to Flacco to beat them through the air.

Monday Night Football Picks - Prediction:
The Ravens having more success running the football will be the difference in the game. Look for Baltimore to ball control which will help their strong defense keep the Packers' big play offense in check. The weather forecast calls for snow and a high of 30 degrees. With bad weather as a factor, it's always a safer bet to take the team that can run the ball more effectively and play better defense. In this case I think the Ravens will do both.

Pick: Baltimore +3.5

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