Baltimore Ravens vs Jacksonville Jaguars Odds, Picks & Lines for Sunday Night Football

Odds as of Dec. 17 at ESPN Bet. New users claim an ESPN Bet promo code to bet on Sunday Night Football. 

The NFL public betting splits for SNF show the Jaguars getting  62% of ATS handle as 3.5-point home underdogs, but the Ravens getting 84% of moneyline handle as -190 chalk.

Jacksonville Loses Two Straight to Backup QBs

The Jaguars’ current two-game skid hasn’t been pretty. First, they fell at home to Jack Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals (34-31 OT), giving up a touchdown-lead in the fourth quarter in the process. Then they lost 31-27 on the road to Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns. Flacco, playing just his second game of the season, piled up 311 passing yards and three touchdowns on the Jacksonville secondary.

Meanwhile, QB Trevor Lawrence, who missed part of the Cincinnati game with an ankle injury, didn’t look back to his usual self, going 28-of-50 for 257 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions in the loss at Cleveland.

Jacksonville has just a +22 point differential on the season now. Apart from the 6-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lead the woeful NFC South, every other division leader in the league has at least a +51 point differential, and four of eight are at +117 or higher.

Ravens Edge Rams in OT for Third Straight W

Last week was far from perfect for the Ravens, who gave up 410 yards of offense to the LA Rams and needed overtime to pull out a 37-31 victory as 7.5-point favorites. But it was enough to keep the team two games ahead of Cleveland in the NFC North and one game up on Miami for top seed in the AFC, which comes with the one and only bye in the Wild Card Round.

Lamar Jackson finished the Rams game with 316 passing yards and three touchdowns, along with another 70 yards on the ground, but it wasn’t his most-efficient performance, He was just 24-of 43 (55.8%) passing and tossed a first-half interception which led to the Ravens falling behind by six points.

On the bright side, 31-year-old Odell Beckham Jr had 94 yards and a touchdown on just four catches, marking the second time in three games (but also just the second time this season) he’s eclipsed 60 yards in a game.

With a +143 point differential, Baltimore sits third in the NFL, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys (+188) and San Francisco 49ers (+175). They currently have the best Super Bowl odds of any team in the AFC at +575 and only trail the 49ers (+250) in the NFL as a whole in that betting market.

DVOA supports the oddsmakers view that Baltimore is the best team in the AFC. The Ravens currently rank second in overall DVOA to the Niners, sitting second on defense and fifth on offense. Jacksonville is 10th overall (8th on defense and 16th on offense).

Ravens vs Jaguars Prediction

The Ravens are the better and more balanced team, and their 5-1 road record is the best in the NFL. But the Jaguars are also better than what they’ve showed recently, and it’s inexcusable that a team this talented is sub-.500 at home.

Removing their two London games from the equation, Jacksonville is 2-3 at EverBank Stadium with losses to Houston (37-17), Kansas City (17-9), and Cincinnati (34-31 OT), and wins against Indianapolis (37-20) and Tennessee (34-14). The Jags were 5-2 at home last season with wins over these same Ravens (28-27), along with the Cowboys (40-34 OT).

Look for the Jaguars to play much closer to their potential tonight.

BAL vs JAX pick: Jaguars moneyline (+160)