How the Patriots and Ravens have changed since their last meeting

The New England Patriots last met with the Baltimore Ravens on November 15, 2020. New England walked away with a 23-17 win at Gillette Stadium that day, in a game that famously saw a considerable downpour on the Ravens’ final drive.

Since that contest, both rosters have had some turnover. Let's take a look at what is the same and what is new.

Patriots Changes

The following 24 players were on New England’s 53-man roster in 2020 who are still on the active roster in 2022.

QB Brian Hoyer, RB Damien Harris, WR Jakobi Meyers, OT Isaiah Wynn, OL Michael Onwenu, C David Andrews, OL James Ferentz, DL Deatrich Wise Jr., DL Lawrence Guy, DT Carl Davis, LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, OLB Josh Uche, OLB Anfernee Jennings, CB Myles Bryant, CB Jonathan Jones, S Devin McCourty, S Kyle Dugger, S Adrian Phillips, ST Cody Davis, ST Matthew Slater, K Nick Folk, P Jake Bailey, LS Joe Cardona

Offense: Out of all the players who remain on offense, the only one who did not play a snap in this game was Brian Hoyer. The starter was Cam Newton, who played every offensive snap and went 13-for-17 for 118 yards and a touchdown. Now, Mac Jones will be at the helm for New England in his first game against Baltimore.

Damien Harris is still the starting running back, but Rhamondre Stevenson has been added to the fold. He will see significant work on passing downs while rookie Pierre Strong Jr. may see a few snaps in the backfield as well.

Jakobi Meyers is the lone wide receiver who is back from the 2020 clash — a game that saw him throw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Rex Burkhead. DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey will all be playing significant roles in different formations throughout this game. The two new tight ends are Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, who have replaced the likes of Ryan Izzo, who was the only TE active for that game.

The offensive line returns three starters in Isaiah Wynn, David Andrews and Michael Onwenu as well as backup lineman James Ferentz. Trent Brown was with the Las Vegas Raiders at this time and returns for this matchup. Cole Strange will be the starting left guard in his first game against the Ravens; he will replace Joe Thuney, while Onwenu will replace Shaq Mason.

Defense: The defense returns 11 players, including seven guys who have been starters this season. Deatrich Wise Jr. and Lawrence Guy will both start up front alongside either Davon Godchaux or Christian Barmore.

The linebacker room has some holdovers, but Ja’Whaun Bentley did not play in this matchup. Matthew Judon was a Raven in this game, and he will now be starting on the outside against them. One of Mack Wilson Jr., Jahlani Tavai or Raekwon McMillan will see significant work in this one as they were not in New England for the last matchup. Instead, the Patriots relied on the likes of Terez Hall, Chase Winovich and John Simon. Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings were both in the last matchup as well, but will have increased roles for this one.

The secondary has a lot of players who played in the most recent matchup between those two teams. Safeties Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips all will play significant roles once again in this one, as will cornerbacks Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant. They will help replace since-departed starters J.C. Jackson and Jason McCourty. Newcomers Jalen Mills and Jack Jones will see snaps at corner this time around and do not be surprised if the Patriots use Jabrill Peppers to help contain Lamar Jackson.

Special Teams: Almost all of the Patriots special teams unit is the exact same. Matthew Slater and Cody Davis return as primary players on the unit. Ex-Raven Justin Bethel was replaced by Brenden Schooler, while fellow rookie DeMarcus Mitchell has also made an impact on the unit and will be playing Baltimore for the first time. Nick Folk will be kicking again, and Jake Bailey will return as the punter; Joe Cardona is still doing the long-snapping for New England.

Coaching: The Patriots coaching staff is somewhat similar compared to what it was in 2020. Bill Belichick returns as the head coach and all of the defensive coaches are the exact same. Offensively, however, Josh McDaniels and Ivan Fears are out, and Matt Patricia has taken over as the offensive line coach and play caller. Joe Judge was coaching the New York Giants in 2020 and now he is the quarterbacks coach and an offensive assistant. Vinnie Sunseri has moved over to coaching the running backs, replacing Fears.

Ravens Changes

These 23 players were on Baltimore’s 53-man roster in the last matchup and are still on the roster now:

QB Lamar Jackson, QB Tyler Huntley, RB J.K. Dobbins, FB Patrick Ricard, WR Devin Duvernay, TE Mark Andrews, TE Nick Boyle, OL Ben Powers, OT Ronnie Stanley, C Trystan Colon-Castillo, OL Patrick Mekari, DL Justin Madubuike, DL Broderick Washinton Jr., DE Calais Campbell, LB Kristian Welch, LB Malik Harrison, LB Patrick Queen, CB Marlon Humphrey, CB, Marcus Peters, S Geno Stone, S Chuck Clark, K Justin Tucker, LS Nick Moore

Offense: A lot of the Ravens’ offensive pieces return from the 2020 matchup. Lamar Jackson remains at quarterback and if J.K. Dobbins is able to play, he will be the lead running back. If Dobbins cannot go Kenyan Drake and Mike Davis will get most of the work with Gus Edwards still on PUP. Patrick Ricard remains the fullback as he is one of the best in the league.

The receivers for Jackson have changed quite a bit, but Mark Andrews remains as best pass catcher. DEvin Duvernay is now a starter at wideout after serving primarily as a kickoff returner back in 2020. Rashod Bateman and DeMarcus Robinson are the other two receivers that will get a ton of looks on Sunday; they have essentially replaced Marquise Brown and Myles Boykin.

The offensive line returns Ronnie Stanley and Ben Powers as players who got a lot of playing time in 2020. Patrick Mekari remains with the team but in a backup role. Rookie Tyler Linderbaum will handle the center duties this time around, a role that was filled by Matt Skura two years ago. Veterans Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses will be the new players on the right side of the line — they have since taken over for Bradley Bozeman and Mekari.

Defense: On the defensive side of things the Ravens have added some pieces while retaining players who are still starters. On the defensive line Justin Madubuike and Calais Campbell are still trying to stuff the run and get after the quarterback. Michael Pierce spent a few years in Minnesota, and he has since returned to Baltimore to play some defensive tackle. 2020 starter Derek Wolfe is no longer with the team.

As for linebackers, Patrick Queen is still the main man in the middle. Malik Harrison continues to rotate in rushing the passer, while Tyus Bowser is on PUP. The new players in the rotation are Odafe Oweh, Josh Bynes and Justin Houston. Bynes and Houston are veterans who will play a lot of snaps and make smart football plays. Gone, meanwhile, are the aforementioned Matthew Judon and fellow standout pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters return as the two starting corners on the outside. Chuck Clark is still the free safety so the only players who are new in the secondary that will see a lot of playing time are first-round rookie Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams. The latter has three interceptions in his first two career games with the Ravens.

Special Teams: The main story of Baltimore’s special teams is their kicker, Justin Tucker. He has been there for years and is one of the best ever. They have a new punter in Jordan Stout, who is also Tucker’s holder. Nick Moore is still long-snapping and Duvernay will be returning kicks once again. Most of the unit is the same besides the new punter.

Coaching: John Harbaugh is still the head coach for the Ravens and his coaching ways/staff is pretty consistent year-to-year. The offensive staff is pretty much the same as Greg Roman and his creativity are still there from 2020. Defensively things are different: Don Martindale left to go be the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. Nowadays, Mike Macdonald is calling the plays for Baltimore’s defense.