Matchups to Watch: Week 5 Colts at Ravens

Kemoko Turay/Al-Quadin Muhammad vs. Ravens’ Tackles

Both Ravens’ tackles Alejandro Villanueva and Ronnie Stanley have missed two consecutive practices and are questionable for Monday’s game against the Colts. John Harbaugh said that Villanueva’s injury is not anything serious, but did not comment on Stanley. Villanueva, the former Steelers’ tackle, has been abysmal to start the season, allowing 19 pressures through the first 4 weeks. Backup tackle Patrick Mekari has done a decent job so far filling in for Ronnie Stanley, but struggled against the Broncos, allowing 4 pressures and 2 sacks. Andre Smith did an almost impeccable job filling in for an injured Villanueva last Sunday, allowing just one pressure in relief. Kemoko Turay was really solid against the Dolphins’ tackles, notching 2 sacks, while AQM has been improving recently, and is starting to make at least some sort of positive impact.

Matt Pryor/Eric Fisher vs. Justin Houston/Odafe Oweh

Former Colt Justin Houston has not been having a very solid season for the Ravens, as his struggles with productivity continue, and the switch back to OLB on a 3-4 scheme has not been kind to his lack of explosiveness. On the other hand, Odafe Oweh has been having a breakout rookie season, getting 16 sacks+hits+hurries through just 4 games. Both players are also really solid in the run game, racking up 6 stops for Oweh and 4 for Houston. Hopefully the Colts’ experiment with Julien Davenport is over, and he is benched or cut for good. Matt Pryor was not anything exceptional, but next to Davenport he looked like an All-Pro. While solid in the running game, Eric Fisher has struggled a lot in pass protection, and Carson Wentz definitely needs some better protection from his left tackle.

Nyheim Hines/Mo Alie-Cox Vs. Patrick Queen

Patrick Queen has been abysmal in pass coverage to kick off the season, allowing 21 catches on 26 targets, and 168 yards after catch. On a game where Carson Wentz’ will probably be getting a lot of pressure, the dumpoff is very important. If Wentz can get the ball out quickly to Hines, and the speedster can get those extra yards then the Colts offense should be able to at least move the ball a reasonable amount. In the redzone, Mo Alie-Cox will probably be a very important part of the offense, and he gets a really good matchup against the limited Patrick Queen.

Michael Pittman Jr. vs. Marlon Humphrey

So far, Pittman has gone up against Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard, two of the game’s best cornerbacks, and on Sunday he will go up against probably the player that rounds up the top 3 in Marlon Humphrey. MPJ has been the Colts’ leading receiver, and Wentz’ favourite target, getting 33 targets. Because of the lack of production from both Zach Pascal and Parris Campbell over the past two games, with just 10 combined receptions for the couple, MPJ alone has 12, Pittman Jr. has become the Colts’ clear #1 option through the air, and the Ravens will probably be trying to avoid the ball coming his way.

Kenny Moore vs. Whoever is lined up in the slot

The Ravens rotate their slot receiver a lot, with Mark Andrews (34 snaps), James Proche (24 snaps), Marquise Brown (22 snaps), and Devin Duvernay (21 snaps) all seing action there. While Kenny Moore has been much better the past two weeks, being targeted 6 times, allowing 3 receptions and getting a pick, he has struggled a lot this season, and while Kenny seems to struggle against receivers that specialize in route running, like Cooper Kupp, the size matchup against Mark Andrews is worrying, as the Ravens’ tight end is 6’5’’ while Kenny stands in at 5’9’’.