Kickoff: It is finally here. The home opener! The Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens in the first of eight home games at Gillette Stadium. Both teams are coming off of thrilling games. The Patriots beat the Steelers 17-14 while the Ravens lost a heartbreaker to the Dolphins at home 42-38.

Today marks the 16th all time regular season meeting between the two teams. The Patriots lead the series 11-4. The last time the two teams met was November 15th 2020 on Sunday Night Football. The Patriots won that game 23-17.

The Patriots are 4-2 all time in the playoffs against the Ravens.

Four Downs: (Four Keys to the Game)

1st Down: Slow Down Lamar: Good luck! Jackson is arguably the most dangerous player in the league because of what he can do as a dual threat quarterback. The Patriots have to cloud his reads in the zone read game and force him to give the ball. Front design and alignment are important in games like this. The Patriots front seven needs to be fundamentally sound and responsible.

2nd Down: Limit the big play: Baltimore made a ton of big plays last week in their loss to Miami. The Patriots have to limit their ability to do that. If they cannot get this offense off the field in key down and distance situations, it will be a long afternoon. It will be even an even longer afternoon if Baltimore converts by making big plays.

3rd Down: Throw early and often: Yup. Mr. “Run The Ball” said it. The Patriots need to throw the football in this one if they want to win it. Baltimore is dead last in total defense thus far this season. They are giving up 379 per game through the air, by far the most in the league. The Ravens secondary has been awful. The Patriots need to take advantage.

4th Down: Feed off the crowd: The Patriots need to feed off the crowd and play with controlled emotion. Patriots fans have been waiting a while for this game. The team needs to play well today so that the fans can be engaged and make life tough on the Ravens when it comes to noise.

Extra Point: The Patriots are 4-1 in their five meetings with the Ravens including the playoffs. In that span, they are averaging 29.8 points per game offensively.

Final Drive: Buffalo and Kansas City are clearly the cream of the crop in the AFC, but who is the best team in that next tier? Well, today’s game might go a long way in answering that question. A win over Baltimore could put the Patriots at the top of that list. Tennessee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Las Vegas and Denver have all been disappointing thus far. Unless you put Miami in that group, the Patriots would probably be the best team if they get the win today.