It’s difficult to imagine a more lopsided matchup than the one on tap in the Meadowlands this Sunday as the Baltimore Ravens come off their bye week to face the New York Giants.
Though the Ravens have flirted with elite status during parts of the season, they are just 8-5 and fresh off a loss to the truly elite Eagles. In a tight AFC North, there’s no wiggle room for Baltimore. It must pick up wins of this kind if it wants to remain in its divisional race.
While the Ravens have cast flirtatious glances at elite status, the Giants have long since read their vows and committed to another lost season. New York’s 2-11 and set to play out the string with Tommy Devito under center as it tries to position itself high on the draft board ahead of yet another franchise reset.
With Lamar Jackson and the Ravens headed to New Jersey and a date with the Giants, check out our Ravens vs. Giants predictions, including our NFL picks against the spread, with kickoff set for December 15 at 1 p.m. ET.
Matchup Ravens vs Giants Overview
Teams: Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Giants
Date: Sunday, December 15, 2024
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: MetLife Stadium
Current Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Giants Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
| Ravens | -1600 | -15.5 (-110) | O43.5 (-110) |
| Giants | +750 | +15.5 (-110) | U43.5 (-110) |
Why the Baltimore Ravens Can Cover
Already the most lopsided game on the Week 15 slate, at least in terms of NFL spreads, the Baltimore Ravens against the New York Giants would appear even more uneven if the Ravens’ defense hadn’t struggled mightily over several months. Yet, even with Baltimore’s defensive issues in mind, there’s a clear route to covering for it.
It starts with a Ravens offense that, even with limited weapons around quarterback Lamar Jackson, can create explosive plays at a high rate. The Ravens are atop the league in yards per drive at 38.7 and have frequently scored massive chunks, whether through broken plays, long runs, or vertical hits.
We’ve seen the explosive capabilities of Baltimore’s offense routinely throughout 2024. They’ve twice blown out good, playoff-bound teams, with a 35-10 win over the Buffalo Bills and a 41-10 win against the Denver Broncos in their portfolio. Their 28-25 win over the Dallas Cowboys began as a complete rout until it got… weird. Plus, they’ve hung 40 on the Cincinnati Bengals (and then 35 a month later) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
To cover such a lofty spread, the Ravens first need to build out a comfortable lead — and their explosive offense, as well as Jackson’s superhuman ability, will enable them to do just that. Just as important, however, is their ability to sustain a lead until the clock reads zero. That is where the other dynamic of their offense comes into play.
Baltimore’s inability to change its cards had cost them repeatedly in the Jackson era, most notably in last year’s AFC Championship game when it was simply devoid of answers against the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s where the addition of Derrick Henry was supposed to change things — and the man dubbed King Henry has done just that.
Even for Henry’s standards, having defied belief for so long, he is having an outrageous first season with the Ravens. His counting stats are fantastic, with over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns at nearly six yards per carry, but it’s the way he has helped the Ravens close that’s really made an impact.
Henry can handle a workload as very few tailbacks can in this era of the NFL, allowing Baltimore to see out games. The consistency of its running game and, by extension, Henry is a big reason Baltimore is atop the league in yards per drive (38.7) and fourth in points per drive (2.74).
It’s also why, despite giving 15.5 points, the Ravens could very well cover on Sunday. They’ve got the weapons, led by Jackson, to storm out of the gates and build such a large lead. They also have King Henry to turn to and help kill off a game.
Why the New York Giants Can Cover
With Tommy Devito back under center for the New York Giants on Sunday, they’ll be hard-pressed to get enough points on the board to stay within the 15.5-point spread. Just a couple of weeks ago, Devito made his 2024 debut and promptly led New York to seven points on the day — which came on a one-yard Devin Singletary plunge.
Devito simply is not an NFL-caliber quarterback, and he cannot operate an offense as such. Other than drive-extending penalties, New York’s best route to points on Sunday is simply spamming the football to its two dynamic playmakers in rookies Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Nabers, in particular, has the type of explosive ability that could turn a quick-hitting short pass into an 80-yard touchdown. That kind of unpredictability aside, however, the Giants’ likeliest option to keep things tight comes from their opponent.
The Ravens have frequently appeared to be Super Bowl contenders; however, their defense has consistently let them down. When looking at their average performance in terms of yards allowed and points allowed both per game and per drive, they consistently rank near the bottom 10 in the league.
In Baltimore’s eight wins, its defense has had a positive EPA (expected points added) twice. In the other six wins, Baltimore’s D has an average EPA of -12.9 — which would rank last in the NFL league-wide for the season, despite these showings coming in Baltimore victories.
Ultimately, we’ve seen enough from both Devito (in a limited run in 2023 and once this year) and the Ravens’ defense this season to reconsider the question. It isn’t so much what the Giants can do to cover the spread but rather what Baltimore’s defense can do to help the Giants do so.
It may not be an overly competitive game, but all it would take is (another) horrible showing from the Ravens’ defense and a handful of explosive plays from Nabers and Tracy Jr. to alter the script and keep New York within a couple of scores.
How to Make Ravens vs. Giants Picks
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