Monday night's matchup between the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens has all the ingredients for a potential game of the year. These are two Super Bowl contenders. They boast two of the best rosters in the NFL. And they're both looking to avoid a 1-2 start, so there's some urgency here.

But only one team held up its end of the bargain the last time they met. That would be Baltimore, in a 38-6 beatdown in 2023 that still haunts the Lions.

"You don't forget those because it was -- we didn't give ourselves a chance," Lions coach Dan Campbell said this week. "By the end of the first quarter, it was -- we were in a bad way."

The Ravens provide a good litmus test for where the Lions stand early in the season. A win over Baltimore would alleviate many concerns. A loss would be Detroit's second in three games against teams that look like contenders.

What will Monday bring? Let's discuss.

That's the question we're all wondering. Week 1 proved to be a difficult matchup for the Lions, and it wasn't helped by communication errors along the offensive line and in the secondary. Week 2 was closer to expectations -- taking care of business against a Chicago Bears team they were expected to beat.

The Lions have been careful about not reading too much into their own performance against the Bears. They know they're still figuring out what they can and can't do with their players, and that feeling-out process could last into Weeks 4, 5 and 6. However, the team is certainly encouraged by its bounce-back effort. The defense got off the field in crucial situations -- including a pair of fourth-down stops -- and forced two turnovers. The Lions' offense dropped 52 on their former offensive coordinator, while protecting Jared Goff (four pressures allowed) for the majority of the game.

It's hard to repeat that sort of effort, especially on the road against a Super Bowl contender, but at the very least, the Lions cannot afford to make things difficult for themselves with communication errors and self-inflicted damage. Beating Lamar Jackson is hard enough. Don't beat yourself, too.

In the locker room after the Bears win, right after he was handed a game ball by Campbell, Lions safety Brian Branch quickly shifted the focus to this week.

"We can't get too excited," Branch said. "We got Baltimore next week."

That speaks to the level of respect the Lions have for Jackson and this Ravens team. There haven't been many games since the Lions turned the corner in 2022 where the team just hasn't been competitive for 60 minutes. That was one of them. They lost 38-6, scoring a garbage-time touchdown in the fourth quarter. Jackson was magnificent in that one, throwing for 357 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 36 and a score. He got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was a showcase for OC Todd Monken, en route to an MVP season for Jackson. And that was before they had Derrick Henry.

The teams that have had the most success against this Ravens offense have created turnovers and tackled well, getting population to the football. It starts there. The Lions have the defensive playmakers to create turnovers, with Branch and Kerby Joseph, so the spotlight will be on Detroit's safeties. We'll see the game plan for Detroit's linebackers -- the QB spy question is one that typically annoys defensive coordinators -- but the Lions had success with spies against the Bears and have done well to contain mobile QBs early in the season.

The Cleveland Browns really committed to stopping the Ravens' run game last week, and to their credit, they accomplished what they set out to do. The Ravens faced eight or more men in the box on 71.4 percent of their rush attempts on Sunday -- the second-highest rate in Week 1. As a result, Cleveland held Baltimore to just 45 yards on 21 rush attempts. The Lions can certainly do that. Then again, Jackson threw four touchdowns with a passer rating of 128.8, so.

There's risk involved, no matter what you try.

"That's part of the issue that you're going to deal with," Campbell said. "OK, you sell out there, then the guy can still make these throws. There's a lot of space behind there. If you're going to sell out for the run, there's a ton of space for these receivers. Then your cornerbacks get hung out to dry, but yet, that's part of the deal, too. They know that if you're going to do that, they've got to lock them down and try to make it a difficult throw, play sticky coverage. So, there's just so many different things. And obviously, Lamar is the catalyst; he's the guy that makes it go, he can do so many things."

In 2023, the Lions did not record a defensive snap with eight or more men in the box vs. the Ravens. Maybe that changes with Henry, but this defensive line is plenty capable of holding its own in the run game. They'll need defensive tackles DJ Reader and Tyleik Williams to be at their best.

Pouncy: Goff can spin it with the best of them when he's locked in. Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw, who tried to recruit Goff to Stanford out of high school, called Goff "elite" this week. He was excellent against the Bears, throwing for 334 yards and five touchdowns. Baltimore ranks 25th in pressure rate at 30.1 percent and is tied for 25th in sacks with three. Kyle Van Noy (12.5 sacks in 2024) is dealing with a hamstring injury and could miss Monday's game. If Detroit's protection holds (just four pressures vs. the Bears), the Lions have the playmakers to score against this Baltimore defense.

Protect Goff and finish in the red zone. This feels like a game the offense will need to win. Stopping Jackson is a difficult task for any defense, so you can't expect that to happen. However, the Lions have the weapons to put up points against just about any team. If it's a shootout, the Lions will need to give Goff time to read the defense, and when the offense moves the ball, the Lions will need to capitalize in the red zone rather than settle for field goals. That feels like their best path to victory.

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