NFL forecast: Ride Rodgers, Packers over injury-riddled Ravens

A matchup of the the last two NFL MVPs might not materialize Sunday as Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is questionable to play against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said Jackson “has a chance” to play despite the fact that he didn’t practice all week after suffering a sprained ankle in last week’s loss at Cleveland.

If Jackson can’t play, Tyler Huntley would make his second career start for the Ravens.

I’ll take my chances with the Packers, who own the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a 10-3 record and the league’s best ATS mark at 11-2 behind Rodgers, who has thrown for 1,033 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions the last three weeks.

The Ravens’ secondary has been decimated by injuries, losing starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey to a season-ending torn pectoral muscle two weeks ago in a loss to the Steelers.

Baltimore ranks No. 31 in passing defense, allowing 266.1 yards per game, while Green Bay is ninth in passing offense (253.8 ypg). That’s the perfect recipe for Rodgers, who should carve up the Ravens while the Packers’ sixth-ranked scoring defense (20.9 ppga) keeps Baltimore’s offense in check.

Green Bay is 10-0 ATS on grass and has covered 10 of its last 11 games overall. Back the Pack -6½.

Here are four more plays (home team in CAPS):

■ Patriots (+2½) over COLTS: Bill Belichick is always well-prepared and even more so after a bye. New England has won and covered seven consecutive games to claim the No. 1 seed in the AFC and is getting points. The Patriots lead the NFL in scoring defense (15.4 ppga) and have limited their last five foes to 7.2 ppg. New England has covered four of the last five meetings. Belichick and his defense will find a way to contain NFL rushing leader Jonathan Taylor and confuse Colts QB Carson Wentz.

■ DOLPHINS (-9½) over Jets: Miami has won and covered five in a row, is coming off a bye and needs a victory over lowly New York to keep its playoff hopes alive. The Dolphins have covered the last seven meetings with the Jets, beating them 24-17 on the road Nov. 21 and winning the last three by an average of 16 points. New York has the NFL’s worst spread record at 3-10 ATS and is last in the league in scoring defense, giving up 30.5 ppg.

■ Vikings (-6) over BEARS: It’s always dicey to back Minnesota. But this is more of a play against Chicago, which has lost four straight home games while going 0-4 ATS and has lost seven of its last eight games overall while going 1-7 ATS. The Bears are coming off a disappointing 45-30 loss to the Packers. Chicago still averages only 17.8 ppg and will be hard pressed to repeat last week’s output. The Vikings have had extra time to prepare and try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive after beating the Steelers 36-28 on Dec. 9.

■ RAMS (-6) over Seahawks: The Rams were hit harder by COVID-19 than the Seahawks, but they could get back some players after the game was moved from Sunday to Tuesday. Los Angeles is coming off arguably its best performance of the year in a win over Arizona and is 7-2 ATS in its last nine home games against Seattle. The Rams beat the Seahawks 26-17 in October and should feast on Seattle’s NFL-worst passing defense (278.9 ypga).

Last week: 4-1

Season: 39-31

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.