The Ravens (1-2) will face the Kansas City Chiefs (1-2) at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Here are game predictions from The Banner’s sports staff and a guest picker.

Wrong week, wrong opponent

Kyle Goon, columnist (2-1): As someone who picked the Ravens to win the Super Bowl, it gives me no pleasure to swallow all this crow. But I don’t believe in the Ravens right now, and if there were one team I would pick for them not to bounce back against, it’s the Chiefs. Andy Reid consistently outcoaches John Harbaugh. Lamar Jackson gets caught trying to do too much. The injuries in the defensive front exacerbate problems stopping the run and rushing the passer. I think the Ravens will eventually show they’re a better team than they’ve been and vie for a place near the top of the AFC — just not this week.

Chiefs 27, Ravens 23

I’ll believe it when I see it

Giana Han, reporter (1-2): I’ve thought the Ravens had what it takes to beat the Chiefs in every meeting I’ve covered. But, after watching the way they lost in the 2023 AFC championship game, I swore not to pick against the Chiefs until the Ravens prove they can expunge their fluky mistakes and beat Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. This year, the Chiefs look like the worst version of themselves in a while. However, the Ravens aren’t looking so hot, either, and their run defense is a huge concern. The Ravens’ offense might keep rolling, but the Chiefs will find a way ... again.

Chiefs 29, Ravens 27

Finding a way

Chris Korman, editor (3-0): I still believe the Ravens are a good team, with enough talent to be where they want to be at the end of the season. But I’m also thankful for a bit of ~narrative~ around the team right now, because it’s not fun (or all that interesting) if it’s easy. I’m expecting Sunday to be chaotic, to not answer many of the questions we have and to not convince us that everything is OK. But I do envision the Ravens finding some probably-very-grimy way to get back to .500.

Ravens 31, Chiefs 27

In need of a vibe shift

Paul Mancano, Banner Ravens Podcast co-host (1-2): This time a year ago, the Ravens were also 1-2. But the vibes around this team feel dramatically different, perhaps because at no point last season did Baltimore look as bad as it did Monday night against the Lions. All of that can change with a win Sunday. Not because the Chiefs look like juggernauts — this might just be the worst supporting cast Patrick Mahomes has played with in his career — but because they’ve taken the Ravens’ number in recent years. Beating Andy Reid and Kansas City would restore confidence in what the Ravens are building. But I don’t think it’ll happen.

Chiefs 24, Ravens 23

An Arrowhead upswing

Jonas Shaffer, reporter (1-2): What happens when a stoppable force (the Chiefs’ rushing attack) meets a movable object (the Ravens’ run defense)? Guess we’ll find out Sunday. Kansas City is trending in the right direction after two losses to open the season, but the Ravens have the offensive personnel to run over a Chiefs defense that tends to play with lighter groupings, and the Ravens’ pass defense should match up well with a questionable receiver group. Mahomes Magic is real, especially in Arrowhead Stadium, but the Ravens are bound to break through there at some point.

Ravens 28, Chiefs 27

Undermanned vs. underwhelming

Childs Walker, contributor (1-2): The Ravens’ defense is dangerously undermanned. The Chiefs are on the mend, with wide receiver Xavier Worthy on track to play. That makes this pick trickier than it would have been two weeks ago. Then there’s whatever psychological baggage might be left over from the Ravens’ past losses to Kansas City (1-5 with Lamar Jackson at quarterback). So, yeah, it’s enticing to back Patrick Mahomes as a home underdog. On the flip side, the Chiefs’ offense has been painful to watch, while Jackson’s Ravens score quickly and often, even when everything else is going wrong. Can Kansas City keep up in a crucial game for the most surprising 1-2 teams in the league? The bet here is no.

Ravens 31, Chiefs 24

Derrick Henry and the Ravens get right

Brandon Weigel, editor (2-1): If you think the Ravens’ running game has problems, take a look at the Chiefs’. Their leading rusher is quarterback Patrick Mahomes (125 yards). Both their primary running backs, Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt, are averaging just under 4 yards per carry, even after facing pretty poor run defenses in the Philadelphia Eagles (allowing 133.3 yards per game on average) and the New York Giants (153.3).

So, yes, heading to Arrowhead Stadium with a patchwork defensive front is a terrifying idea, but the Ravens should benefit from lining up against a one-dimensional offense. And we have yet to see a vintage Mahomes aerial assault.

With the awful loss to the Lions still fresh on their minds, and Derrick Henry’s fumble problem still making headlines, the Ravens’ offense will go back to a ground-and-pound approach to get the star running back right and orchestrate several long, clock-killing drives.

Ravens 28, Chiefs 24

Guest pick

Pete Sweeney, The Kansas City Star: You hate to point to injuries as a key difference maker, but I think the Ravens being without Kyle Van Noy, Travis Jones and Nnamdi Madubuike, while Xavier Worthy likely returns to the lineup for the Chiefs, could be a problem for Baltimore. The Ravens’ offense has been scary impressive, but Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has begun to click these past two weeks. I think the Ravens’ injuries aid Kansas City’s offense in finding the fast start that has eluded it to start the season and the Chiefs find victory in front of the home crowd.

Chiefs 30, Ravens 27