New York @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2011 ) N.Y. Jets 17, Baltimore 34

For the second time this season, Ed Reed will be taking on the team with which he won the Super Bowl last season - he’ll just be in a different uniform this time. Reed will make his second start for the New York Jets when they visit the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Both the Ravens and the Jets are battling for the second wild-card slot in the AFC, with Baltimore sitting one game behind New York in a cluster of teams at 4-6.

Baltimore fell for the fourth time in five games in a 23-20 overtime loss at Chicago last week and has gone five straight games without surpassing 20 points. Ray Rice finally got going with 131 rushing yards against the Bears but will be going up against a defense that leads the NFL, allowing just 73.2 yards on the ground. New York and the Ravens are two of nine teams in the AFC with either four or five wins that have a shot at the final wild-card spot.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Ravens -3.5. O/U: 39

ABOUT THE JETS (5-5): New York is the first team to alternate wins and losses through the first 10 games of the season and is due for a victory if that pattern holds. The Jets have been outscored by 85 points - worse than every AFC team except the 1-9 Jacksonville Jaguars - and have recorded each of their five wins by a touchdown or fewer thanks to a strong running game on offense and a strong defense against the run on the other side. Rookie quarterback Geno Smith was benched in the fourth quarter of last week’s 37-14 loss at Buffalo and is 16-for-42 for 218 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in the last two games.

ABOUT THE RAVENS (4-6): Baltimore’s Super Bowl hangover is threatening to knock it out of the playoff hunt and tight losses have been the biggest concern. The Ravens dropped a 23-20 overtime decision at Chicago last week and their last five losses have come by an average of 3.4 points. Joe Flacco has much more experience than Smith and was the Super Bowl MVP, but he is looking just as lost recently with four interceptions in the last two games, including one at Chicago that was run back for a touchdown.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Ravens have taken seven straight in the series.

2. New York RB Chris Ivory is averaging 118.5 yards in the last two games.

3. Baltimore is 17-3 over its last 20 home games, including 3-1 this season.

PREDICTION: Ravens 24, Jets 14