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Oakland Raiders vs. Baltimore Ravens: 5 matchups to watch

By John Buhler

BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 2: Donald Penn No. 72 of the Oakland Raiders guards against Terrell Suggs No. 55 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 2: Donald Penn No. 72 of the Oakland Raiders guards against Terrell Suggs No. 55 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Khalil Mack No. 52 of the Oakland Raiders matches up against Brandon Shell No. 72 of the New York Jets at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Khalil Mack No. 52 of the Oakland Raiders matches up against Brandon Shell No. 72 of the New York Jets at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Khalil Mack vs. Austin Howard

Didn’t this sort of matchup happen last week? You bet it did! The Raiders will have their ace pass rusher in defensive end Khalil Mack going up against another former Raiders offensive tackle in Austin Howard, now with the Ravens.

Howard has played well on the edge for the Ravens this season. In Marshal Yanda‘s absence, Howard has been the most consistent player on the Ravens offensive line. He’s even outplayed former first-round pick Ronnie Stanley up to this point. Not by much, but enough to standout.

Like with what Mack had against Menelik Watson last week in Denver, he could be licking his chops in figuring out ways he can get past Howard to bring down Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in the backfield. Add in the Oakland crowd noise and this could be a long day for the Ravens offense is Mack can get in the backfield early.

That being said, Howard has played better so far this season than Watson has for the Broncos. In terms of the right tackles he’s gone up against, Howard is playing about as well as Morgan Moses had been for the Washington Redskins. Even in that primetime game, Mack was able to make some plays against a solid Redskins team. Look for him to the do the same thing on Sunday afternoon.

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