The NFL's Week 9 schedule opens tonight with a matchup that looked lopsided on paper when the league released it last spring and looks even more so now. The Jacksonville Jaguars, at 5-2, travel to M&T Bank Stadium to face a Baltimore Ravens team that has slipped to 4-4, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

Jacksonville enters as roughly a 7.5-point favorite, according to Sports Illustrated's betting preview of the game — a notable line for a road team against a franchise that has made the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been at the center of the Jaguars' turnaround, with SI's preview noting he remains firmly in this season's MVP conversation after a start that has Jacksonville positioned atop the AFC South.

A season that hasn't gone to plan in Baltimore

The Ravens, by contrast, head into their home game well off the pace they're accustomed to. A roster that has reached the AFC Championship game multiple times in recent years has instead spent this season near .500, and Baltimore's injury report has been a recurring storyline through the first eight weeks — CBS Sports' Week 9 injury tracker has flagged the team's practice participation all week as one of the more closely watched reports in the league heading into tonight.

JACKSONVILLE IS A 7.5-POINT FAVORITE ON THE ROAD

For the Jaguars, the assignment is straightforward: protect a two-game cushion in a division that has been winnable for the franchise for the first time in years, and do it against a proud opponent with its back against the wall. A road win would push Jacksonville's record to 6-2 at the season's near-midpoint and send an early signal about which AFC teams are built to contend into January.

For Baltimore, the calculus is almost the opposite. A loss would drop the Ravens to 4-5 and deepen questions about a season that still has time to turn around in a conference without an obvious runaway favorite, but that is running out of margin for continued inconsistency. Both teams will have had a normal week of rest after their Week 8 games, a small scheduling equalizer in a Thursday night slot that otherwise tends to favor whichever team is playing with less urgency.