Week 12 Preview: Eagles @ Ravens

One week after the Eagles were embarrassed more than any other team's been embarrassed in a long time, they will take to the field at M&T Bank Stadium to take on the Baltimore Ravens.


When: 1 PM
Where: Baltimore
What Channel: Fox
Announcers: Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan
Announcers Talking Point of the Game: The Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, was, as we all know, a former assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles


The Ravens come into this game (6-4) and in 2nd place in the AFC West. The Eagles, as we all know, are (5-4-1), are in last place in the NFC East, and have suffered one of the most embarrassing weeks a professional sports team has suffered in quite some time. Not only did the Eagles tie the Bengals, but Donovan McNabb and several other Eagles (all drafted by the Eagles under Reid) did not know that there were ties in the NFL! Surely, the Eagles are going to come out and prove all of the critics wrong, right? Surely this can't get any worse than last week, right?

Not so fast. This one could be worse. The Eagles have struggled to run the ball in the past few weeks and going up against one of the best run defenses in the NFL will not help things. The Giants may have torched them for over 200 yards, but really, what teams can't the Giants torch for 200 yards on the ground? The Ravens defense looked silly last night and this is the perfect chance for them to step up to the plate and show that last week was a fluke. While the Ravens offense hasn't been anything spetacular, they have been efficient under rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. Do not expect this offense to torch the Eagles defense who played well on defense last week against the Bengals, but sadly, no one remembers that. And while this offense is a little more potent than the Bengals' offense, the Eagles D should be up to the task.

It can be said that this is the Eagles' last chance to prove all of the critics wrong and get back into this race. Remember: The Eagles are only a half-game out of the 6th seed for the wildcard. A win here (especially if it's an impressive win) and what happened last week will soon be forgotten. But the Eagles are entering the difficult part of their schedule. A loss, and this might officially be it. After the Ravens, the Eagles have the Cardinals this Thursday, and then a re-match with New York.

The Eagles need a win here. The Cowboys are playing the hapless 49ers and the Redskins are playing the even more hapless University of Washington, er, I mean Seattle Seahawks. Sorry Seahawks fans, I can't tell the difference anymore. A win here is essential for the Eagles, however, looking at the match-ups, this looks like it will be another clusterfuck of a game with both teams not moving the ball at all. It will most likely be low-scoring and yawn all of the non-die hards this week. And for the first time all year, I am actually picking against the Eagles. I just can't see how this offense, as impotent as it was against the Cincinnati Bengals can get it done against the Ravens. 13-10 Ravens is my prediction, but hopefully the Eagles will prove me wrong. I will see everyone here on Sunday for the live blog.