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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterDec 14, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Throughout the week, the Baltimore Ravens have been repeatedly asked how they’re not going to be overconfident heading into Sunday’s game at the struggling New York Giants.
The Ravens’ response: They’ve learned their lesson.
“I mean, we lost to the Raiders, who are 2-11 right now, so you can’t really go into a game thinking that,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. “You’ve got to go play every single game. So, I think we have that mindset, and we’re locked in on the Giants.”
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The Ravens are currently the biggest favorite of the 2024 season at 16 points, according to ESPN BET. This would surpass the Detroit Lions–Jacksonville Jaguars game in Week 11 when Detroit was a 14.5-point favorite — which it won 52-6. This would also make the the Ravens the sixth-largest road favorite in the last 30 years and make the Giants the NFL’s largest home underdog since 1966, according to ESPN Research.
But 14 weeks into this season, the Ravens (8-5) have proved they can beat the best teams in the league as well as lose to some of the worst. Baltimore has been upset by two teams with double-digit losses: a 26-23 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 and a 29-24 loss at the Cleveland Browns (3-10) in Week 8.
Now, Baltimore faces the Giants (2-11), a banged-up team in line for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Sunday’s game (1 p.m. ET, CBS) could be seen as prototypical trap game as the Ravens play the AFC North’s first-place team, the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3), six days after their game in New York.
“There’s no difficulty in getting ready for a team,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “We understand how good every single team is. The New York Giants are a very talented, very tough [and] very well-coached football team. They’re very capable, and we’re going to have to play our best football to win the game. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Baltimore understands it has little margin for error if it wants to repeat as division champions. A win increases the team’s chances of winning the AFC North to 23% and a loss drops the odds to 6%, according to ESPN Analytics.
The Ravens are facing the Giants in Week 15. Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images
The Ravens’ history suggests they won’t overlook the Giants. Baltimore is 44-1 (.978) all time when being a double-digit favorite, including in the postseason. This is the best winning percentage in the NFL since the Ravens’ inaugural season in 1996.
The team has been favored by two or more touchdowns on the road twice in franchise history. Baltimore won both of those games, beating the Arizona Cardinals 13-7 in 2000 and defeating the Washington Football Team 31-17 in 2020.
Now, Baltimore prepares to play a Giants team that has lost eight straight games and hasn’t won since Oct. 6.
“We can’t worry about the outside noise,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “We can never worry about the outside noise, because like I always say, it’s another NFL team we’re playing, no matter the record.”
NFL teams are 65-6 (.915) when favored by 14 or more points over the past 20 years. The last time a team lost when favored by two or more touchdowns was at the end of the 2021 season, when the Indianapolis Colts fell to the Jaguars 26-11 after being favored by 14 points.
But the Ravens understand the sting that comes with surprising defeats. They insist those losses to the Raiders and Browns will remind them to not take Tommy DeVito and the Giants lightly.
“It helps us just not let our guard down,” Hamilton said. “You’ve got to win every game in this league. [It] doesn’t matter the situation, what week it is, who’s on the other side, who’s not on the other side; if they’ve got 11 guys out there, and there’s a football, then you’ve got to win the game.”
