The Ravens (10-3) will face the Jaguars (8-5) at 8:20 p.m. Sunday in Jacksonville, Florida. Here are predictions from The Baltimore Banner’s sports staff.

Kyle Goon, columnist

A hard look at Jacksonville’s schedule shows the Jaguars look more like paper tigers. The win total is impressive, but the teams they’ve come against are anything but. They’ve been crushed by Kansas City and San Francisco, the true contenders on their schedule, and hit a wall against their AFC North opponents in their last two losses. They have only a plus-22 point differential (the Ravens are an AFC-best plus-143).

The Ravens are due for a better performance in the run game (though Jacksonville is fairly stout), and their deep passing elements coming together against the Rams feels promising. Here’s a bet that the Ravens’ pass rush will hassle Trevor Lawrence and Lamar Jackson and the offense take advantage of their explosive threats to create chaos on the road.

Ravens 34, Jaguars 13

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Jonas Shaffer, reporter

The Ravens don’t have to worry about the Jaguars’ rushing attack, and that’s bad news for Trevor Lawrence. He won’t have his most reliable target available — slot receiver Christian Kirk is on injured reserve — and he was under siege for much of Jacksonville’s loss Sunday to the Browns. After Rams coach Sean McVay got the better of Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald in key spots Sunday, it’s fair to expect a bounce-back game.

On offense, Lamar Jackson has to like what he sees: a Jaguars pass defense that just gave up a combined 655 yards to two backups, the Bengals’ Jake Browning and the Browns’ Joe Flacco. Jacksonville’s run defense might be the team’s most reliable unit, but that group hasn’t faced a dual-threat quarterback like Jackson in months. If the Ravens can limit their turnovers, they could roll in prime time.

Ravens 30, Jaguars 17

Giana Han, reporter

Trevor Lawrence is a good quarterback, and that’s what the Ravens will be preparing for, John Harbaugh said Wednesday. But, good or not, Lawrence is also a quarterback recovering from injury with a top receiver out. The Jaguars put up a fight against the Cleveland Browns, one of the toughest defenses in the NFL, and scored 27 on them. I would like to think the Ravens’ defense will be tightening up after its leaky performance last game, but this has gone on several weeks now.

However, the defense has to keep the Jaguars only to less than the Ravens’ offense scores. And this offense looked good last game and great in that final quarter. Meanwhile, the Jaguars’ defense looks good not great. If the offense can keep that momentum going, the Ravens will beat the Jaguars whether the defense of the start of the season or the defense of the past few games shows up.

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Ravens 30, Jaguars 24

Chris Korman, editor

It seems unlikely that Trevor Lawrence will be sharp, and it’s not as if he currently has a group of receivers likely to make plays while he finds his rhythm. Couple that with a lousy run game and even an offensive mind as bright as Doug Pederson’s will have trouble getting things going. Jacksonville’s best hope is to hang around and get the ball in Lawrence’s hands late; he can make pretty much every throw, and certainly many that will challenge the Ravens’ secondary.

But how will the Jaguars slow the Ravens? Josh Allen has been an effective pass rusher this year, but the rest of the defense doesn’t instill much fear.

Ravens 34, Jaguars 16

Brandon Weigel, editor

Quarterback Lamar Jackson took nine deep shots in Baltimore’s 37-31 overtime win over the Rams, connecting on three for 121 yards, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, more than double the deep passing yards he’s had in any other game this season. Jackson was one of three qualified quarterbacks entering Week 14 not to have a deep touchdown pass. With scores of 54 yards, 46 yards and 21 yards, he cut the list to two.

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Although the downfield pass has been a weakness in Jackson’s game, it wouldn’t be surprising to see coordinator Todd Monken dial up a bunch more against a Jaguars defense that is surrendering 265.2 passing yards per game, 31st in the NFL. Getting those plays synced up could really help the Ravens as they try to hold on to the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

While the questions surrounding safety Kyle Hamilton’s availability are a concern, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald should know what to expect from Jacksonville: a lot of Trevor Lawrence. Jacksonville has a top-10 passing attack (242.9 yards per game) and a bottom-10 ground game (99.8 yards per game). He’ll have his unit prepared accordingly.

Ravens 27, Jaguars 17

Jonas Shaffer

jonas.shaffer@thebaltimorebanner.com

Jonas Shaffer

Jonas Shaffer is a Ravens beat writer for The Baltimore Banner. He previously covered the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun. Shaffer graduated from the University of Maryland and grew up in Silver Spring.

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