Off Topic » Lamar Jackson knows that he will play a big part in stopping

KANSAS CITY Garrett Bradbury Jersey , Mo. (AP) — the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs offense when he leads the Baltimore Ravens into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.He won’t make a tackle, though, or cause a fumble or intercept a pass.That’s because stopping Patrick Mahomes and Co. begins with keeping them on the sideline. And to do that, the Ravens quarterback needs to make sure he keeps his own offense on the field.“Whatever it takes, we’re going to help them out,” Jackson said of the Ravens’ top-ranked defense, “keep the clock running, keep the ball in our possession.”The Ravens have been good at that all season.Even before Jackson took over for Joe Flacco, who remained limited in practice this week with a hip injury, the Ravens employed a ball-control style offense. Their average time of possession is nearly 32 minutes a game, third-best in the NFL, and that in turn has helped Baltimore lead the NFL in scoring defense.It has been even more pronounced after Jackson went under center, though. He has 265 yards rushing to set a quarterback record for a player’s first three starts in the Super Bowl era, and the Ravens have run for at least 200 yards as a team in each game during the corresponding three-game win streak — they are the first team since the 2010 Jaguars to accomplish that feat.In last week’s victory over the Falcons Noah Fant Jersey , who have a score-a-minute offense in their own right, the Ravens held the ball for an astounding 39 minutes, 39 seconds. They did so by piling up 25 first downs, half of those coming on the ground, and running 77 plays to just 45 for the Falcons.“When you’re on the field for 20 percent less than what you normally have been, you’re obviously going to play better defense and play better as a team,” Ravens safety Eric Weddle said.“Play great defense, control the clock, play great on special teams, you have a shot at winning. That’s been known here over the years of the way the Ravens play, and we’re going to continue to do that.”The Chiefs are quite nearly the diametric opposite.Only four times in their first 12 games have they possessed the ball more than their opponents, and that was with reigning NFL rushing champ Kareem Hunt in the backfield for the first 11 of them.Hunt was released last week after a series of off-the-field issues became public.In fact, both of the Chiefs’ losses this season — at the Patriots and Rams — have come when they’ve lost the time of possession battle. It was particularly lopsided in New England, when the Chiefs had the ball for less than 24 minutes in what became a 43-40 shootout loss to Tom Brady and Co.One of the big reasons for the disparity is that Kansas City simply scores fast http://www.cowboyscheapauthenticstore.com/trysten-hill-jersey-cheap , averaging an NFL-leading 37 points per game. The Chiefs’ quick-strike offense centers around Mahomes distributing to one of the deepest stables of skill-position talent in the league, headlined by speedsters Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins and their versatile, big-play tight end Travis Kelce.Mahomes has a league-leading 43 throws of at least 25 yards this season. Quite a few of those have been part of his NFL-best and franchise-record 41 touchdown tosses.Coach Andy Reid acknowledged that teams have tried to play ball-control offense against Kansas City, and for the most part it hasn’t worked that well. The Chiefs have been able to build big enough leads in most of their games that opponents have to abandon the run altogether.“I don’t think it changes what you do,” Reid insisted. “You have to be efficient with what you do when you have the opportunity with the ball. That is always our challenge, though. You have to take care of business when you have the opportunities.”Notes: RB Charcandrick West has switched numbers after signing earlier this week. He wore No. 35 last year and was No. 30 at practice Thursday. … P Dustin Colquitt has been nominated by Kansas City for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. … TE Demetrius Harris (ill) missed Thursday’s practice. Considering what happened in the rain at Cleveland last Sunday, the rugged AFC North looks like it will be wide open.So Thursday night’s visit to Cincinnati by Baltimore takes on an extra bit of importance, even in mid-September, after the division-favorite Steelers stumbled and bumbled to a 21-21 tie against the Browns.The Ravens were all over Buffalo from the start as Joe Flacco recaptured some of that 2012 championship form and the defense destroyed the Bills. The Bengals fell in a big hole at Indianapolis and showed far more gumption than usual by climbing out of it to win.Two teams many projected as also-rans for 2018 delivered some impressive opening performances.“That game is behind us,” Ravens safety Tony Jefferson says. “Although it’s great to have momentum, it’s over with. It’s a new week. This is a division opponent; they know us very well and we know them very well.”Perhaps. But these Bengals seem to have a resilience not seen often in recent seasons, though Cincinnati did show such moxie in the previous meeting with Baltimore.The Ravens ended the season hosting the Bengals and fell 31-27 on Andy Dalton’s 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd with 44 seconds left. That eliminated Baltimore from the playoffs and sent Buffalo into the postseason.The Ravens, ranked No. 9 in the AP Pro32, and No. 16 Bengals are pick-em at Paul Brown Stadium. It’s hard to fathom that Pro Picks is predicting Cincinnati will start the season 2-0. But that’s where we’ll go.BENGALS Drew Lock Jersey , 21-20KNOCKOUT POOLWe warned everyone last week that we aren’t very saintly in these things, and New Orleans’ flop proved that. We’re obligated to keep trying and will go with the LA RAMS.No. 28 Oakland (plus 6) at No. 14 DenverNot exactly Orange Crush defense, but Broncos will put Mile High hit on Jon Gruden’s Raiders.BEST BET: BRONCOS, 23-13No. 3 Minnesota (plus 1) at No. 6 Green BayNo miracle finishes for A-Rod and Pack this time, though this isn’t much of an …UPSET SPECIAL: VIKINGS, 27-20No. 1 New England (minus 2) at No. 5 JacksonvilleAFC championship game rematch — and perhaps harbinger for January. No revenge for Jaguars.PATRIOTS, 27-16No. 7 Kansas City (plus 5 1-2) at No. 11 PittsburghSteelers fall behind even more in AFC race and Chiefs prosper.CHIEFS, 26-24No. 19 Los Angeles Chargers (minus 7) at No. 32 BuffaloBills can’t possibly be as bad as they looked in opener. Or maybe they are.CHARGERS, 27-10No. 31 Arizona (plus 13) at No. 4 Los Angeles RamsCardinals can’t possibly be as bad as they looked in opener. Or maybe they are.RAMS, 26-10No. 30 Detroit (plus 5 1-2) at No. 23 San FranciscoLions can’t possibly … you get it.49ERS, 20-17No. 18 Miami (plus 3) at No. 17 New York JetsBattle to keep pace with Patriots in AFC East — at least through two weeks.J-E-T-S, 23-21No. 8 Carolina (plus 5 1-2) at No. 10 AtlantaRed zone scares Falcons, strange occurrence for a team wearing that color.FALCONS, 20-17No. 2 Philadelphia (minus 3) at No. 15 Tampa BayIf Buccaneers win this http://www.broncoscheapauthenticstore.com/dre_mont-jones-jersey-cheap , time to re-evaluate.EAGLES, 21-20No. 29 Indianapolis (plus 5 1-2) at No. 12 WashingtonRedskins were as pleasant a surprise as Bucs last week. Revival continues in DC.REDSKINS, 26-19No. 27 Cleveland (plus 8) at No. 13 New OrleansWho thought Saints would be more embarrassed team in opener than Browns?SAINTS, 27-15No. 24 New York Giants (plus 3) at No. 25 DallasNBC and NFL love this as prime-time matchup. Hey, they both are 0-1, guys.COWBOYS, 17-16No. 21 Seattle (plus 3) at No. 22 Chicago, Monday nightBears need to put Lambeau collapse behind them.BEARS, 20-16No. 20 Houston (no line) at No. 26 TennesseeTough start for banged-up Titans.TEXANS, 23-13