The Baltimore Ravens will see a little bit of Aaron Rodgers on Thursday night in their preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. They’ll probably just shrug: The Ravens have won 14 consecutive exhibition matches.
Which doesn’t amount to a whole lot, when you think about it.
Except to John Harbaugh and his team.
“We like to win,” Harbaugh says. “The haters out there are going to have their own little snide comments. I think winning is better than losing.”
The last Baltimore loss in a game that doesn’t count was in 2015.
Baltimore’s retooled defense opened the preseason with four sacks in a 29-0 rout of Jacksonville, offering evidence that the loss of linebackers C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith may not be as serious as first thought.
Smith, by the way, is now with the Packers.
Second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson played in three series last week for the Ravens, producing a field goal and a touchdown while not running the ball even once.
For Rodgers, it will be his first game action since suffering a concussion in last year’s season finale. After sitting out last week’s 28-26 win over Houston, Rodgers will be seeking to get a handle on the new playbook installed by first-year coach Matt LaFleur.
“It will be a good test for our first time running this offense in another stadium on the road against a really good defense,” Rodgers said.
The Packers will not have running back Aaron Jones. Green Bay’s leading rusher from a year ago participated in his first team (11-on-11) period on Tuesday after missing six practices and the preseason opener against the Texans because of a hamstring issue.
LaFleur said he wants to see better tackling and fewer penalties from his defense. He said the defense missed 24 tackles last week that resulted in an extra 164 yards for the Texans. The Packers also committed 12 penalties for 102 yards, yet they are looking to start the preseason 2-0 for the fourth consecutive year.
