The Washington Redskins starters managed just one first down on 16 plays from scrimmage last weekend in their second preseason game.
Clearly, they'll have to do better than that this week to have any chance at beating the Baltimore Ravens.
ODDS
It shouldn't be stunning that the Ravens are the easy favorites in this game. They opened up at -3.5 and have quickly risen to -4. The total is understandably a little on the high side as well at 43.5 as well as Baltimore's offense has played thus far in exhibitions.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Robert Griffin III was knocked out of last week's game with a concussion. Though Jay Gruden thinks that his starting quarterback might be able to play this weekend, we just can't see that happening.
Instead, expect to see a heavy dose of both Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy, and it isn't unbelievable to think that both might actually get first-team reps and go back and forth in this game.
The Ravens very likely aren't going to push it as long as Joe Flacco gets off to a good start. He was terrible last week against Philadelphia, throwing two picks on just seven attempts, but he's capable of much better.
Expect to see John Harbaugh count pretty exclusively on Flacco and Matt Schaub in this game, though we have no doubt that Bryn Renner will clean things up in the fourth quarter.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
Week 3 of the preseason is absolutely Harbaugh's week. He’s 5-2 SU and ATS thus far in his career in Baltimore's third exhibition game.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We need to fix a lot, obviously. We would like to get some positive production from our ones." – Redskins head coach Jay Gruden on his disappointing offense thus far in the preseason
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
We have a legitimate question about Washington’s offensive line. This unit has gotten RG3 killed over the course of the last couple games, and outside of Trent Williams, we're not really all that sure there is a legitimate NFL starting lineman in this bunch.
Five rookies are still fighting for spots on this roster along the offensive line, but things clearly aren't looking good for Gruden and the gang.
INJURIES
Obviously, the Griffin injury is the big one here, knowing that it's going to be tough for him to be played to strap on his helmet on Saturday night.
Kevin Osemele, Matt Elam and Brett Urban are all preseason casualties, and Osemele is quite possibly the only one of those men who will play again this year.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Ravens feel like they should win this game, but we aren't so sure. Even though the Redskins haven't gotten a thing out of their first-team offense, their reserves have been pretty darn good, albeit against their opponent’s reserves.
If the combination of Cousins and McCoy can avoid turning the ball over, Washington has a real chance of winning this game, especially with this new Marc Trestman offense in Baltimore causing some problems leading to turnovers from time to time.
Either way, we want the points on our side. Expect this one to be competitive until the very end.
Baltimore 24, Washington 23
The NFL odds for this Saturday contest were first released by BookMaker, and the Baltimore Ravens were position as 3.5-point favorites with a total of 43.5. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
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