Week 2: September 15th at Baltimore Ravens
TV: FOX 10:00 AM
The Cardinals make their first trek to Baltimore in eight years. Usually they’ve played the Ravens close back east but this is a very different roster than what we saw in 2011.
The travel back east and in the early window NFL games will of course get a lot of play over the week. It is all over-hyped. It is the only September road game for the Cardinals.
Last time: The Cardinals hosted the Ravens in 2015 and defeated them 26-18 on Monday Night Football. In that one Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson intercepted Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Key players: It will mark Cardinals linebacker Terrell Suggs‘ first trip back to Baltimore. After playing his first 16 seasons with the Ravens, he signed as a free agent with the Cardinals in the offseason.
He should get a nice reception. We’ll see what kind of reception the Cardinals get from the Ravens defense. They are among the higher ranked defenses heading into the 2019 season.
Their secondary includes guess who? Yes, the same Tony Jefferson who helped the Cardinals beat the Ravens in 2015. He is listed as their top safety.
Prediction: Ravens 23 Cardinals 12
Since this is the first regular season road test for the young Cardinals team, it could be a struggle in a hostile environment for them. It is easy to see the Cardinals offense struggle and have to settle for field goals this day.