Before the 2013 NFL season started, expectations were sky-high for the Baltimore Ravens. Coming off a Super Bowl victory and a massive contract for quarterback Joe Flacco, the Ravens were the odds-on favorite in their division. The New York Jets, meanwhile, were a sideshow and trainwreck, with expectations higher for comedy than a winning record. Yet as we enter Week 12, these two NFL teams have far different momentum. The 4-6 Ravens continue their trip down mediocrity lane, while the 5-5 Jets are showing signs of life with rookie quarterback Geno Smith. If you can’t catch the game live on CBS, you can watch Jets vs Ravens online free live using one of several different methods.
Today’s 1pm EST / 10am PST game between the Jets and Ravens is poised to be a duel. For the Jets, Geno Smith must avoid any and all turnovers, as his 20 turnovers lead the league. For the Ravens, their offense must do anything it can to show signs of life in the passing game. There’s little chance that Baltimore’s running game will be able to muster much of anything against the Jets’ defense, which is allowing a paltry 73 rushing yards per game. The task for Ravens QB Flacco, then, is to play efficiently and well — something he’s not exactly doing this season. For the year, Flacco’s completion percentage is just 58.6, putting him (and his massive off-season contract) at just the 26th spot in the NFL and #21 in ESPN’s overall quarterback rankings.
Playing catch-up against the Jets isn’t a position the Ravens figured to be in to start the NFL season this year. Yet that’s just what they’ll do today from a win/loss standpoint — and they’re not alone. The Jets currently hold the second wild-card spot in the playoff hunt since they have the tiebreaker with Miami. The Ravens — and five other teams with 4-6 records — are just one game behind the Jets, making this a showdown with more meaning than just a reunion with safety Ed Reed.
Yep, when you watch Jets vs Ravens online free live you’ll see two teams duking it out for the final AFC playoff berth. And that’s in spite of neither team having a winning record. Ravens fans would also like to think that eventually Flacco will stop turning the ball over, something he’s done this season at a pace he’s never before seen in his career. Fortunately for Flacco, the Ravens QB typically plays better at home, where he’s thrown only two interceptions at M&T Bank Stadium, the site of today’s live game on CBS. Baltimore’s also going up against the Jets, which typically isn’t a strong interception team. That could change with cornerback Ed Reed in the Jets secondary, who’s returning to Baltimore for the second time since leaving the Ravens.
Also in the Ravens’ favor is that Baltimore is familiar with Jets coach Rex Ryan, who was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator from 2005 to 2008. Since Ryan left to coach the Jets, the Ravens are 2-0 against their former coach. Yet the Ravens have come up short late in games this season, with four losses by a field goal or less. If they can’t put away the Jets in the fourth quarter, knowing full well that the Jets play poorly on the road, their playoff push will be essentially done. Jets quarterback Geno Smith, meanwhile, will invariably do everything in his rookie-jubilant power to push the Jets one game closer to an unexpected post-season appearance.
If you can’t catch the live HDTV broadcast on CBS, you can watch Jets vs Ravens online free live on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with MAX Package. The package requires a subscription, but anyone who has one can watch the live streaming version free of any game, including today’s 1pm EST / 10am PST NFL game between the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens.
