Why Ravens' Injuries Make Lions Game More Winnable

The Baltimore Ravens will be missing multiple key players for their Monday Night Football clash with the Detroit Lions, including star pass-rusher Kyle Van Noy. 

Van Noy, a 2014 second-round pick of the Lions, amassed a career-best 12.5 sacks last season. He suffered a hamstring injury last week against the Browns, and reportedly could miss multiple games due to the ailment. 

Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (neck), tight end Isaiah Likely (foot) and fullback Patrick Ricard (calf) have all also been ruled out for the primetime showdown. 

Madubuike, who’s produced two sacks through two games, played in a full season’s worth of games each of the past three seasons. The 2020 third-round pick led all NFL defensive tackles with 13 sacks in 2023, and followed up that performance with 6.5 a season ago.

In his absence, rookie Aeneas Peebles, a sixth-round pick this past April, is expected to see an increased number of snaps. Peebles, for his part, was named to the Pro Football Focus Rookie All-Star team in both Week 1 and Week 2. 

"I know he's going to play hard and he's going to get after it," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of the first-year pro. "I have a feeling he'll make a few plays."

The Virginia Tech product was a productive pass-rusher in college, notching 11.5 sacks during his time at Duke and Virginia Tech. Harbaugh is hoping to see the defender produce against both the run and pass, which sets up an intriguing matchup with the Lions' young offensive line.

“(Aeneas Peebles) is going to need to step up. It's kind of just – to your point – with Nnamdi being out, those guys are all going to have to step up and pick up the slack," Harbaugh said. "Definitely with ‘Fub,’ (Peebles) he has to do that in the run game and the pass game, whenever he is in there [with] no drop off at all."

Likely has missed the first two games of the season after suffering a fracture in his foot during training camp. There were rumblings that he'd be in position to return for Monday's game, as he practiced throughout the week. However, he was still ultimately ruled out.

Ricard, meanwhile, is a veteran who has made a career at fullback after beginning his career as a defensive tackle. He has yet to appear in a game this season while dealing with a calf injury suffered in August.

Without multiple key members of their roster on both sides of the ball, the Ravens will be facing a disadvantageous situation. While they will have resolve, the Ravens will have a tall task facing a Lions team in good standing from a health perspective.