Baltimore Ravens vs. Denver Broncos: Preview and Predicition

Baltimore Ravens football is back today as John Harbaugh, Joe Flacco and the rest of the team is at Mile High Stadium to kick off the 2015 NFL season against the Denver Broncos.

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Both teams enter the season with championship aspirations after falling in the AFC Divisional round last season.

Former offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is now the man n in Denver and has arguably one the best quarterbacks to play the game in Peyton Manning to run his offense.

The offense gets all the hype, but the Broncos have a formidable defense as well. Von Miller is one of the top pass rushers in football. They also have DeMarcus Ware and first-round pick Shane Ray to get after the quarterback. The secondary is very underrated with Aqib Talib and Chris Harris manning the corner positions. T.J. Ward is another terrific piece in the back end of the defense, but he will miss the Week 1 matchup with a one-game suspension.

Meanwhile, the Ravens enter the contest a bit banged up. Timmy Jernigan is hopeful that he can play Sunday, but will likely be a game-time decision. The same could be said about Rashaan Melvin. First-round pick Breshad Perriman will not be active Sunday, in addition to Lorenzo Taliaferro, who is out with his MCL injury.

The key for the Ravens will be to limit the amount of time that Manning is on the field. Manning carved the Ravens secondary for seven touchdowns in a 49-27 beatdown. Baltimore needs to counter with the strong running game that Kubiak made a focal point of the offense last season.

Prediction:

Road games are always a tough test, but opening up a season in Denver is an even more daunting task. The majority of the Ravens starters haven’t played in a full football game since January and the high altitude in Denver makes it difficult for players’ bodies to recover.

That was present in the last game between two of the AFC favorites as Manning decimated a Ravens team coming off a Super Bowl win. The Ravens made an effort to improve the secondary this offseason, but Melvin could miss the game and Lardarius Webb has been battling injury most of the preseason as well. That’s a recipe for disaster going up against a rested Manning.

We released our season predictions earlier this week and most of the staff agrees that the opener is a strong possibility for one of the Ravens few losses this season. A matchup down the road is definitely a possibility, but a lot could change during the regular season.

Harbaugh won’t allow his team to get embarrassed like they did in 2013, but it’s Kubiak who will get his first win with the Broncos.

Next: Ravens Secondary Has Improved Since 2013 Embarrassment vs. Broncos

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