Ravens must put up in Green Bay or shut up about playoff run

Ravens at Packers Sunday, November 19 | 1:00 PM Lambeau Field CBS/WJZ-TV (Ch. 13) 98 Rock | WBAL-1090 AM

All aboard for Green Bay!! This is your make-it-or-break-it game of the season, Ravens fans…

Strangely, the wildly inconsistent Ravens at 4-5 are being given a puncher’s chance by many pundits to win this game and keep themselves in AFC Wild Card contention.

As reported by Sarah Ellison of the Ravens media department, there’s plenty of reason to believe the Ravens will get the victory and even out their season at .500:

1)     They’re rested coming off the bye.
2)     The Ravens’ sixth-ranked defense will be too much for backup QB Brett Hundley.
3)     Baltimore’s healthier than Green Bay, as the Ravens are getting players back from an early onslaught of injuries while the Packers continue to lose key starters on top of already missing Aaron Rodgers.
4)     The Ravens are in a near must-win situation.

“The Ravens are healthier than the Packers and have a better defense and special teams. Even though this is a road game, the Ravens can’t call themselves playoff contenders if they can’t beat the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers,” wrote The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec.

Here’s Sarah Ellison’s prediction scorecard for the game:

A big question heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers is whether veteran running back Danny Woodhead will play his first game since the season opener.

Woodhead remains on injured reserve because of a hamstring issue, but the Ravens have until 4 p.m. Saturday to move him to the 53-man roster. Even if he gets activated this weekend, head coach John Harbaugh said it’s not a guarantee that he will play on Sunday.

“It’s just going to come down to the doctors and trainers making their decision,” Harbaugh said. “We’re ready if he goes, and we’re ready if he doesn’t go.”

The bad news on the injury front is that left tackle Ronnie Stanley is doubtful to play with a concussion.

Stanley was a limited participant in practice all week, indicating that he has not yet cleared all five steps of the NFL’s concussion protocol. He suffered the concussion near  the end of the Week 9 matchup with the Titans, Harbaugh said.

Stanley did not talk with reporters this week.

If Stanley is out, then James Hurst would likely move from left guard to left tackle. Luke Bowanko or Jermaine Eluemunor could then slide into the starting guard spot.

The Ravens also signed tackle Andrew Donnal for some depth this week after he was released by the Los Angeles Rams.

The Packers are dealing with their own injury issues, and that goes beyond the broken collarbone to starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

They ruled out running backs Ty Montgomery (ribs) and Aaron Jones (knee), right tackle Bryan Bulaga (groin) and safety Morgan Burnett (groin). Bulaga and Burnett are both starters.

Linebacker Ahmad Brooks (back), defensive tackle Quinton Dial (chest), cornerback Kevin King (shoulder) and guard Lucas Patrick (back) are all questionable to play.