Ravens Now a Top Ten Super Bowl Contender After 2-0 Start

• The Baltimore Ravens topped the Arizona Cardinals 23-13 in Week 2
• Lamar Jackson finished the day with 247 passing yards, 120 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns
• Every other team in the AFC North has yet to win a game

The Baltimore Ravens played fairly well for a second straight week, earning a hard-fought 23-17 win over the upstart Arizona Cardinals.

For a second straight week, the Ravens Super Bowl odds have shortened. Are they worth a bet at this point or have they merely cut through an easy schedule?

 2020 Super Bowl Odds

Ravens Clip Cardinals Wings

Baltimore was expected to win by a couple of touchdowns on Sunday, so in some ways, they did disappoint. The game proved to be much of a sweat against Kliff Kingsbury and company. They allowed rookie Kyler Murray to post his second consecutive 300+ yard game and the Cardinals had two drives to tie or go ahead in the fourth quarter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG3fenpJ1Xw

However, the general feeling is that this game was closer than expected because the offense left points on the table. The Ravens turned the ball over on downs and settled for field goals a few times instead of capping off drives with touchdowns.

However, it was another sharp effort from Lamar Jackson, who went 24-37 for 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also ran for 120 more. The receiving corps was stellar again as tight end Mark Andrews had eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, while Marquise Brown had eight grabs for 86 yards – including a key first down at the end of the game.

The defense played well as they only gave up 15 first downs and held the Cards to 349 yards. Overall, it was a solid win but not as big as the scoreboard watchers had hoped for.

AFC North Not as Strong as Expected

We’ll see what the Cleveland Browns do on Monday Night Football but they were blown out at home in Week 1. The Pittsburgh Steelers are already 0-2, have had the doors blown off their defense and have now potentially lost starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for a long period of time. The Cincinnati Bengals are also 0-2.

While it’s still very early, it’s pretty clear that the AFC North is not as strong as it was expected to be. Looking big picture that’s also the case with the AFC as a whole.

Sure, there’s the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. However, the Los Angeles Chargers are shaky, the Steelers are hurting and the top three teams in the AFC South are 1-1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Npqhxifag

Baltimore looks like one of the three best teams in the AFC right now and it’s not close. Again, it’s early, but they’ve looked every bit a Super Bowl contender.

What’s The Best Bet?

I’m not hopping on the Ravens Super Bowl odds just yet. So far, they’ve smoked the Miami Dolphins – the worst team in the NFL – and edged out the Cardinals, who had a rookie quarterback making his first road start. The schedule is about to get much tougher and we’re going to learn about this team very quickly.

Next up is a visit to the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs, then divisional games home to the Browns, at Pittsburgh, and the Bengals in Baltimore, followed by a visit to Seattle, and finally returning off a bye to host the New England Patriots. Barring a magical run, the Ravens will have some losses in there and their Super Bowl odds will lengthen.

I’d pass at this point as we’re not entirely sure just how good they are. We’ll know more over the next seven weeks and will get better prices down the road.