Inside the NFL analyst Ray Lewis looks at the Ravens’ and Bears’ dominant defenses as playoff races heat up.<\/b>
\nThe NFL\u2019s high-flying offenses, like the Chiefs and Rams, generate the highlights. But the Bears and the Ravens are showing the importance of defense as playoff races heat up. The Bears limited the Rams to just six points in Week 14, and the Ravens came very close to knocking off the Chiefs. Both teams, oriented around defense, find themselves contending for division titles with just three games left in the season.
The Bears can lock up the NFC North this week, and the Ravens could pull ahead in the AFC North. And according to Inside the NFL analyst Ray Lewis, both of these teams can go deep in the playoffs should they get the right matchups. We caught up with Ray to talk defense and more as he prepared for the show. You can catch him alongside Boomer Esiason, Phil Simms, guest analyst Ed Reed and host James Brown tonight on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET.
What are the keys to slowing down the NFL\u2019s elite offenses, like the Chiefs, Rams and Saints?
It\u2019s never changed. We get so caught up in and enamored of the high scoring and the long passes. But the bottom line is whoever your dominant front seven is, that\u2019s who\u2019s going to dominate the game. Like you saw many times on Sunday, with the Bears and the Ravens, you saw both [opposing] quarterbacks, from those high-powered offenses, running. Once you can establish your dominance in that front seven, you control 90 percent of the game.
One of the biggest plays was made in that Kansas City game on a fourth and eight. You cannot let Patrick Mahomes out of the pocket. If you let him out of the pocket, he has the ability to throw anybody open. And that\u2019s when he becomes deadly.
We\u2019re going to start to see the best run games and the best defenses in football. Those teams will surprise people.
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Offense has been the focus this season. But the Bears and Ravens are contending for playoff spots on the strength of their defenses. How far can defense carry these teams in the playoffs?
It\u2019s all matchups. Who do the Bears get and where? The Bears and the Saints in New Orleans\u2026 that\u2019s a tough one. If the Bears are at home, they\u2019re a different ball club. If the Ravens get somebody at home\u2026
The Ravens have a real chance right now. If Pittsburgh drops this one this week, and they beat the Bucs this week, the Ravens move into first place in the AFC North. That\u2019s huge for them. Either way the Ravens win this week, because Pittsburgh and the Patriots can\u2019t take a loss. The Ravens are right on their heals.
I just think it\u2019s going to come down to the matchups. The Patriots don\u2019t want to play the Ravens. Nobody in the AFC wants to play the Ravens right now. They\u2019re running the ball like no other.
When Joe Flacco comes in, the run game is gone. That dynamic, what Lamar Jackson brings, it stops there. Now you\u2019re not playing to your defense. Now you\u2019re playing Joe Flacco football. It\u2019s a tricky dynamic.
When I was playing, we always looked at matchups. What if we saw this team? What if we saw that team? But if we got the right team, they didn\u2019t have a chance.
And that\u2019s what the Bears said to the Rams. Jared Goff\u2019s success rides on Todd Gurley\u2019s shoulders. They took Todd Gurley out of that game, you saw the real Jared Goff. That\u2019s a different team. If you\u2019re a defensive coordinator, and you go into that game with the mentality that we\u2019re going eight in the box to stop Gurley. Second down and long, third down and long and make Goff beat you. That\u2019s how I\u2019m playing the Rams.
How am I playing Kansas City? Kareem Hunt is gone, so they\u2019re not as dominant. I\u2019m going to rush four men, and tell [Mahomes] to beat me.
How does this Ravens defense compare to some of legendary Ravens defenses that you and Ed Reed [this week\u2019s Inside the NFL guest analyst] led?
I would never compare those. What I\u2019m proud of is that the tradition carries on. You set a standard. To have that culture, it\u2019s players, it\u2019s sizzle, making that culture live. When you think of the Ravens, you think of defense.
The AFC North is basically a tossup. What do the Steelers and Ravens each have to do to win the division and avoid the wild card or even missing the playoffs?
You\u2019re now starting to see the effect. You lose Conner and the run game. They have to get that run game going. They can\u2019t expose their defense. Their defense from the secondary side isn\u2019t as good as people think. Even from the linebacking core. The Steelers are known for defense, but you saw what happened last week against the Raiders. It\u2019s going to be tough this week to beat Brady in Pittsburgh. But whoever loses this game, it changes their whole season. This is a big one for both.<\/p>\n