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Les Bowen: Eagles vs. Ravens prediction

HEY, THE EAGLES came out of Week 1 with the No. 1 NFL defense and the No. 2 offense. Don't see what everybody's so hissy about.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco leads his team to face the Eagles Sunday. (Steve Ruark/AP Photo)
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco leads his team to face the Eagles Sunday. (Steve Ruark/AP Photo)Read more

HEY, THE EAGLES came out of Week 1 with the No. 1 NFL defense and the No. 2 offense. Don't see what everybody's so hissy about.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that those ranking are based solely on yardage.

More seriously, on the surface, this looks like the easiest game to predict in Week 2. The Eagles' offense couldn't get out of its own way against a struggling Cleveland team in the opener; the Ravens cruised past a pretty well-regarded bunch of Bengals.

In the NFL, though, things are rarely entirely what they seem. Week 1 was Week 1. The Ravens might not play that way every week, ditto the Eagles. In fact, John Harbaugh's teams are 28-5 at home, 17-15 on the road. If Audubon's Joe Flacco has receivers running as wide-open as they were at times against Cincinnati, I'll be surprised.

But I'll also be surprised if the Eagles can fix everything that was wrong with their offense in 1 week, especially with receivers Jeremy Maclin (hip) and DeSean Jackson (hamstring) ailing.

You've been hearing all week about how nuts it is that the Eagles are favored, what a certainty it is that Baltimore will win. I get nervous when nearly everyone in the media agrees on anything. Usually that means it's pie-in-the-face time for all of us.

Am I willing to buck the trend? No. I can't talk myself into that, either.

Prediction

Ravens 20, Eagles 16.

- Les Bowen