Two years later, the evaluations haven’t changed much. In 2023, this was Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell’s assessment of a 38-6 loss to the Ravens: “They kicked our ass.”

And on Thursday this was Lions quarterback Jared Goff’s recollection of that blowout in Baltimore: “They kicked our butt.”

From Owings Mills to Lions headquarters in Allen Park, Michigan, the subject was unavoidable this past week: Did coaches and players remember the last time the teams met? Of course. How could they not? Both teams cruised into the playoffs that season, making the lopsided score all the more staggering.

Does the game matter? That’s less clear. As the Ravens (1-1) and Detroit (1-1) prepare for a prime-time rematch in Baltimore on “Monday Night Football,” here’s what to watch in the teams’ Week 3 matchup.

1. Under Campbell, the Lions have turned into an NFC power and one of the NFL’s toughest teams. But there was almost no fight in Baltimore two years ago.

The Ravens scored touchdowns on their first four drives, held Detroit without a first down until midway through the second quarter and led by as many as 35 points. The Ravens outgained the Lions 503-337, nearly doubling them in yards per play (9.1 to 4.7).

“Physically, they wore us out,” Detroit assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery told local reporters Thursday. “Physically, they beat us up. … We pride ourselves on physicality, and they put it on tape. That’s kind of what we took from it, and that’s what we have to live with, because that’s what we put on tape. It’s our résumé. So the physicality of this game is going to be high. We know that, and that’s what we have to accept, and we have to do a lot better than we did last time.”

The Ravens are looking for their own course corrections Monday, especially on the ground. In their Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens rushed for just 45 yards total and 0.21 yards before contact per carry, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, one of their lowest marks under offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

On defense, they allowed 115 rushing yards (5.2 per carry) and 4.25 yards after contact per carry, by far their worst mark under coordinator Zach Orr. Entering Week 3, the Ravens’ run defense ranked 28th in opponents’ success rate (46.7%), according to analytics site RBSDM.com, a steep falloff from last season, when they ranked first (31.5%).

“I think it starts with stopping the run, making them [the Lions] one-dimensional and forcing them into a drop-back pass game, and things are a lot different that way,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said Friday. “But obviously, if they’re able to run the ball and establish the run, then that allows for them [to succeed] with their play-action shots and things like that. So that’s what it’s going to be about. It’s a very simple plan, but obviously it’s easier said than done.”

2. It’s hard to overstate the importance of outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy and defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike to the Ravens’ pass rush.

Together, they averaged 20.5 sacks per season in 2023 and 2024, including a combined three takedowns in the win over Detroit. Last year, without either on the field, the Ravens recorded just eight of their 54 sacks.

Now, with Van Noy sidelined by a hamstring injury and Madubuike by a neck injury, the Ravens’ pass rush will have to embrace a youth movement. Their most disruptive defenders on the edge — Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson and Mike Green — and along the interior — Travis Jones and Aeneas Peebles — are all playing on rookie contracts.

Detroit will test the Ravens’ run defense, but the game could hinge on their hot-and-cold pass rush. Quarterback Jared Goff finished last season with a 72.4% completion rate and a 77.1% on-target rate, according to Sports Info Solutions, but those marks fell to 58.1% and 69.2%, respectively, when he was pressured. He enters Week 3 leading the NFL in passing accuracy (80.6%).

Crowd noise could be the Ravens’ secret weapon inside M&T Bank Stadium. Goff’s sack rate last season was higher on the road (6.1%) than at home (4.7%), and Lions left tackle Taylor Decker will likely be playing through a shoulder injury. Left guard Christian Mahogany (nine career starts) and rookie right guard Tate Ratledge (two career starts), meanwhile, both struggled in a season-opening road loss to the Green Bay Packers, allowing a combined three sacks and seven pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

“If you let them sit back there, set their feet and get comfortable, they’ll make you pay,” Orr said Friday. “Jared Goff is one of the best at that. He’s one of the most accurate quarterbacks when he has a clear picture and he can set his feet and throw the football. So we definitely have to generate pressure on him, whether that’s with a four-man rush or whether that’s sending extra guys at him. We definitely cannot let him get comfortable, sit back there and pick us apart.”

3. Amon-Ra St. Brown probably won’t be as busy Monday as he was during his first trip to Baltimore. But he could be more potent.

The Lions’ Pro Bowl wide receiver was targeted 19 times in 2023, tied for the second most ever by an opposing player in a Ravens game. He finished with a game-high 13 catches for 102 yards — but just five first downs. (Even more incredible: Goff didn’t throw him a pass until midway through the second quarter, when the Lions were trailing 28-0.)

Two years later, St. Brown is still the focal point in Detroit’s passing offense. He has a team-high 13 receptions for 160 yards and is coming off a nine-catch, 115-yard, three-score performance in Week 2. Orr called him a “heck of a player.”

“I think he’s underrated,” Orr said. “He’s definitely one of the top players and receivers in the league. I feel like he doesn’t get talked about a lot, but they’re a versatile offense, not just with him. So we’re blessed to have versatile defenders, but it’s going to be pushed to the test, and our guys understand that. We understand that we have to become ready to play with our best football to play well.”

In 2023, Ravens nickel back Arthur Maulet was often matched up with St. Brown, the Lions’ top slot option. This time, St. Brown will likely see more of cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who allowed just 0.83 yards per coverage snap when aligned in the slot last season, one of the NFL’s best rates among regular slot defenders, according to NGS.

If the Ravens need Humphrey elsewhere, they have other options inside. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has inside-out versatility and often moves to the slot in dime personnel (six defensive backs), while safeties Malaki Starks and Kyle Hamilton have experience in coverage closer to the line of scrimmage.

4. The Lions’ pass rush could be in for a long night. But nothing may feel quite as long as one scramble quarterback Lamar Jackson inflicted on Detroit two years ago.

On a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nelson Agholor late in the first quarter, Jackson dropped back into a clean pocket, escaped a bit of pressure by rolling off left guard John Simpson and bouncing to his right, then sidestepped two Lions defenders before floating a pass to an uncovered Agholor in the back of the end zone. In all, Jackson took 9.24 seconds to throw, according to NGS, then the NFL’s third-longest time for a touchdown pass since 2016.

Jackson was rarely bothered in that blowout win; he was hit once and never sacked. If the Lions stick with their typical pressure plan — on standard four-man rushes, they try to compress the pocket and contain quarterbacks with a “cage rush” — Jackson could have a lot of time to throw Monday.

Besides star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit lacks playmakers up front. Starting defensive end Marcus Davenport was ruled out of Monday’s game with a chest injury, and reserve Al-Quadin Muhammad has just 16 sacks over seven-plus NFL seasons. The Lions’ defensive tackles haven’t factored into their pass rush, either.

“If it’s physical and it collapses the pocket, then it’s a challenge,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Thursday of Detroit’s cage rush. “If it doesn’t collapse the pocket, then it’s not a problem. So I think they have some physical rushers. … We have to make sure that the pocket doesn’t get collapsed. But I don’t expect them to strictly do that. They bring a lot of blitzes, especially on third-and-medium, and then on our first and second down, they’ll bring the run blitzes, and they have good rushers. So we’re going to have our hands full, but we’re capable of it. We just have to do a good job."

5. After a three-year hiatus, “Monday Night Football” is back in Baltimore.

The Ravens last hosted the prime-time showcase in October 2021, a dramatic 31-25 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. Their next four “Monday Night Football” games — against the New Orleans Saints (2022), San Francisco 49ers (2023), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2024) and Los Angeles Chargers (2024) — were road trips. The Ravens won all four, averaging 32.8 points per game.

Jackson is 7-2 as a starter on Monday night, and he’s thrown for 22 touchdowns and no interceptions in those nine starts. He speculated Thursday that having another day off has helped sharpen his performance.

“I’ll say that probably the extra rest day, extra film, get a good feel for who we’re playing against and go from there,” Jackson said.

But turnovers have loomed large in his two defeats. In a blowout home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, Jackson lost a fumble late in the first half, when the Ravens were looking to cut into a 17-point deficit. And, in the Ravens’ season-opening overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, he lost a pair of late-game fumbles.