The Baltimore Ravens (1-4) will travel to take on the San Francisco 49ers (1-4) this week in a battle between two teams who have had poor starts to the season. The NFL’s fifth-leading rusher, Justin Forsett (395 yards, 1 TD), will play an integral role in the outcome of this game. It will air Sunday, Oct 18 at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS.
In last week’s game, San Francisco suffered a narrow defeat against the Giants 30-27. NaVorro Bowman led the defensive effort for San Francisco in the loss, recording 13 tackles. Anquan Boldin had a great game as well, adding 107 yards and a TD on eight catches. Baltimore also fell short, losing in a close one against the Browns 33-30. Justin Forsett had a huge game for the Ravens, putting up 170 total yards and a score. He had 121 yards on the ground and 49 yards receiving.
Baltimore is a three-point favorite in this game against the 49ers. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently at 43 points.
Sitting at 1-4 Straight Up (SU) and 2-3 Against The Spread (ATS), the 49ers will look to improve heading into Week 6. The 49ers average 5.3 yards per carry during home games, first in the NFL. The Ravens will have a hard time putting up points against San Francisco’s top-five home scoring defense, which gives up 10 points per home game. There are few in the league better than the 49ers at defending the pass during home games. San Francisco allows 8.4 yards per pass to its opponents. The Ravens will need to stop San Francisco’s defense from getting to their quarterback in order to be successful in this game. The 49ers rank fifth in sacks with four per home game. Concentration could be a key factor in this week’s game. The 49ers hope to profit on Baltimore’s mental lapses, which contribute to 73 penalty yards per game.
Across the field, the Ravens head into Week 6 with records of 0-4-1 ATS and 1-4 SU. Other teams have a high success rate running the ball against the 49ers. It might be in Baltimore’s game plan to take advantage of San Francisco’s run defense in its own stadium, which ranks 26th in the league at 4.7 yards per carry. Moving on to the Baltimore defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the 49ers. Baltimore’s defense ranks in the top half of the league in passing yards allowed during away games and could have the upper hand this week against the 31st-ranked home passing attack of the 49ers, which averages 142 yards through the air per home game. The San Francisco offensive line, which ranks 27th in the league with 3.2 sacks allowed per game, could be a weakness for the Ravens to attack. The first quarter is key for the quick-starting Ravens, who average 6.2 points in the first 15 minutes. When Baltimore’s offense hits the field, they tend to act fast. With an average of 67.8, the team ranks fifth in the league for number of plays per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bal, ATS Winner – Bal, O/U – Under
Notes
San Francisco is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
San Francisco is 2-9 ATS in its last 11 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of San Francisco’s last 12 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of San Francisco’s last 9 games at home.
San Francisco is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games at home.
San Francisco is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
San Francisco is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Baltimore.
Baltimore is 0-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. San Francisco is 1-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
According to overall NFL pass rankings, Baltimore is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its 17th-ranked offensive passing game will face the 30th-ranked pass defense of San Francisco, while its 25th-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 31st-ranked aerial attack of the 49ers.
