Jacksonville @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 23, 2012 ) Jacksonville 17, Baltimore 48

With little-to-no margin for error in the AFC playoff race, the Baltimore Ravens know that they must take care of business Sunday when the Jacksonville Jaguars come to town. Baltimore has won three of its last four games and bounced back from a painful loss to San Diego by winning at Miami 28-13 last week. Joe Flacco accounted for three touchdowns and Elvis Dumervil (3 1/2 sacks) led a constant assault on Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

The Ravens can still win the AFC North if they win their final three games, combined with one loss by both the Bengals and Steelers. First, though, Baltimore must handle a Jacksonville squad that comes in off its ninth double-digit loss of the season - a 27-13 setback versus Houston. The Jaguars gave up 173 rushing yards against the Texans and rank 28th in the league against the run, which could mean big things for the Ravens' Justin Forsett.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Ravens -14. O/U: 45.5

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (2-11): Jacksonville is 0-6 on the road this season and has dropped seven in a row away from home dating to last season. Among the Jaguars' issues is a passing attack that ranks 28th in the league behind rookie Blake Bortles, who has not completed more than 60 percent of his passes in any of the last four games. Bortles leads all AFC quarterbacks with 306 rushing yards while converted quarterback Denard Robinson provided a bit of a spark with 582 rushing yards before getting shut down for the season after spraining his foot against Houston. "It will be an opportunity for Storm (Johnson) to get back in the mix,” offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch said Wednesday of his running back situation. “Toby (Gerhart) is healthy and will continue to be in the mix and (Jordan) Todman will probably be more in the mix."

ABOUT THE RAVENS (8-5): Baltimore had an obvious hole to fill with Ray Rice no longer with the team, and Forsett has plugged that gap nicely with 1,080 rushing yards - third in the NFL - and a league-high 14 runs of 20-plus yards. Flacco completed a season-high 75.8 percent of his passes against Miami and also scored a rushing touchdown for the second straight game after totaling one rushing TD in his previous 28 contests. Only three teams in the NFL have given up fewer rushing yards than Baltimore, which limited Miami to 63 yards on 16 carries last week, although the Ravens' pass defense is the second-worst in the league (267.2 yards per game). "We’re pleased with the fact we’re in the hunt, that we control our own destiny," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Monday. "You can ask for more, but boy, it’s a great accomplishment to be in that position right now."

EXTRA POINTS

1. Dumervil is tied for the league lead with 16 sacks. His career high of 17 came in 2009 while with the Broncos.

2. The Jaguars have won two of the last three meetings, including a 12-7 win in the most recent matchup in 2011 when they held Flacco to 137 passing yards.

3. Flacco needs 197 passing yards to become the first player in team history to reach 25,000, while WR Steve Smith needs four receiving yards to surpass Steve Largent (13,089) for 15th place in league history.

PREDICTION: Ravens 26, Jaguars 20