BOLD PREDICTIONS: Will the Bengals Roar in Baltimore?

The Baltimore Ravens (6-3), who have won six of their past seven games, host the Cincinnati Bengals (4-5) in a primetime divisional showdown on Thursday Night Football. Baltimore is 3-1 at home this season, while Cincinnati is 3-1 on the road.

The NFL’s No. 1 offense (445.9 ypg) is led by two-time MVP QB Lamar Jackson, who’s been superb both passing (2,379 yards, 20 TDs & 2 INTs for an NFL-best 120.7 rating) and rushing (505 yards & 2 TDs). Baltimore’s No. 1-ranked ground attack (191.9 ypg) is fueled by RB Derrick Henry, who leads the league in rushing yards (1,052) and total TDs (13 – 11 rushing & 2 receiving).

• Television: Amazon Prime Streaming / WMAR Ch. 2 (Baltimore)
• On The Call: Al Michaels (PBP), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Kaylee Hartung (sideline)
• Officiating Crew Chief: Clete Blakeman. Blakeman’s crew leads all crews with 16.13 penalties called per game, averaging 142.5 yards per game, 11 more yards than the second-place crew.
• Forecast at Kickoff: 62 degrees, winds NNW 6 mph, 0% chance of precipitation
• Line: Ravens – 6, over/under at 53 points

The Ravens have done remarkably well in primetime games. Since 2008, the Ravens are 21-3 when they take the national stage. They are 8-0 since 2008 on Thursday Night Football while Lamar Jackson is 9-1 in primetime.

Will the Ravens hot streak under the bright lights continue?

[Injury Report]

Tony Lombardi

On the surface, the game looks like a shootout. The last time these teams faced off, it went into overtime with the Ravens notching the dub by the score of 41-38. The Ravens average 31.4 points per game while Cincinnati posts 26.2 PPG. Tonight’s game will feature a fast track with accommodating conditions, so the stage is set for offensive fireworks.

* Lamar Jackson does his usual thing v. Cincinnati. He averages 198 yards by air and 68 yards by ground. He’ll go over his average passing total and under the rushing number. Call it 275 and 41 yards, respectively.

* In 12 games v. Cincinnati, Mark Andrews has averaged 5 catches for 55 yards. He’s hit pay dirt 7 times against the big cats. Tonight, he’ll post 6 catches for 70 yards and two scores.

* The Ravens defense “limits” Ja’Marr Chase to 5 catches for 57 yards and 1 TD. Meanwhile, Bengals TE Mike Gesicki has 8 catches for 92 yards and a score.

* The Ravens move their consecutive game streak of 100+ yards rushing to 43 and their streak of consecutive games with a sack to 48. Both are longest-active streaks in the NFL

* The Ravens plan on making nicked up Cincinnati tackle Orlando Brown, Jr. work. They’ll test his lateral mobility with some twists and stunts, and it will pay off. Odafe Oweh comes up with a huge strip sack that the Ravens convert into game-winning points. The Ravens advance to (7-3) on the season and (29-7) under John Harbaugh in the month of November.

Ravens 27, Bengals 23

Chris Schisler

The Ravens couldn’t stop the Bengals last time outside of an all important Marlon Humphrey interception. The Bengals struggled just as much to stop the Ravens in that first contest. I think it will be a toned down version of that game. Instead of explosive plays and quick turnarounds, I see the two offenses trying to control the ball as much as possible. The result of this will be less big plays and drives that have immense pressure on them. I think it comes down to which team makes the fatal mistake and which team gets the takeaway that changes the game.

The Ravens tend to play great football in prime time. This season the Ravens almost pulled off a comeback win against the Chiefs and saw Lamar Jackson light up the Buccaneers in prime time. The home crowd will certainly help, a home crowd that should be pumped up after a 41-10 victory where the starters got a little rest in the fourth quarter. With these factors in the Ravens’ favor I’ll bet on Lamar Jackson over Joe Burrow.

— Lamar Jackson goes 17-20 for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns

— Joe Burrow coughs up a fumble but has a nearly flawless game otherwise

— Ja’Marr Chase has six receptions for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns

— Derrick Henry breaks another game deciding 50 yard run in the fourth quarter

— Ravens have a 10 minute 3rd quarter drive that defines the game

— Diontae Johnson has his first three receptions as a Raven, for 55 yards.

Ravens 28 Bengals 24

Kevin McNelis

Baltimore got back in the win column on Sunday with a strong second half against Denver, and now they’ve got to “sleep fast” in the words of Buck Showalter. Cincy comes to town for Round 2 of their division showdown, and the Ravens are hoping to sweep the season series. This time, they’re trying not to make it as close as the last one.

-Short rest would seem to favor Baltimore’s style of play. Derrick Henry, who seemingly feels no pain and simply looks down on us lowly mortals with disgust, said he was disappointed with his performance against Denver despite having over 100 yards and 2 TDs. The combination of the short rest and Henry’s desire to trample the weak leads to a few more broken tackles and long runs. The King goes for 150+, with a TD run of over 30 yards.

-He’s not the only one to break a long TD play, though. The secondary got shredded against the Bengals in their last showdown, and Ja’Marr Chase made it look like a track meet on his long score. This time, it’s Tee Higgins (assuming he plays) who rips a long play and has the secondary chasing him.

-Now time for a REALLY bold one: the Ravens special teams unit has looked rough on the year so far, but every now and then, we see them line up a game-breaking play like the one they had against the Rams last year. This is where they get theirs, as they pin the Bengals back in their own territory on a three-and-out and set up a punt return TD.

Bonus points: Keaton Mitchell practices in full and gives the Bengals defense one more threat to worry about on Thursday night.

Ravens 24 Bengals 20

Tanner George

Simply put, this is a huge game.

The Ravens have a chance to deal a massive blow to Cincinnati’s playoff hopes, sending them to 4-6 rather than 5-5. Baltimore, on the other hand, needs this win to keep pace with Pittsburgh in the race for the AFC North crown.

Playing on a Thursday is a quick turnaround, and Baltimore has a solid advantage with not having to travel and what figures to be a rowdy home crowd behind them. The Bengals couldn’t slow down Lamar Jackson and the offense the last time these two teams played, and I don’t really see that changing on TNF. Lamar Jackson tosses three touchdown passes and flirts with 300 passing yards as he once again dazzles with his arm. Derrick Henry continues his ridiculous run, rumbling for 100 yards and a score. Zay Flowers remains a focal point of the offense, hauling in six passes for 110 yards. Diontae Johnson gets involved with a trio of catches, and Rashod Bateman will bounce back with a touchdown reception.

The key to this game is, as it’s been for a while with the Bengals, is finding a way to slow down Joe Burrow. However, injuries in Cincy seem to be working in the Ravens’ favor; initial indications say that Tee Higgins likely won’t be ready to go for this game. If that’s the case, Zach Orr can hone in almost exclusively on Ja’Marr Chase, which obviously limits what the Bengals can do offensively. Joe Burrow will once again dice up the secondary, but he’ll make a costly error by gifting Nate Wiggins with his first career interception. Kyle Hamilton once again has a big game, registering a sack and a pair of pass breakups, and Marlon Humphrey plays lockdown coverage for most of the night. Brandon Stephens will see his struggles continue, giving up a long touchdown pass to Chase, but Orr’s unit will play better overall than they did the first time these teams faced off.

It certainly won’t be an easy game, but I see the Ravens coming out of this one on top. If Tee Higgins plays, this contest is more of a coin-flip, but it’s hard to bet against a team that’s just been so good in home primetime games.

Oh, and those purple helmets are pretty sweet.

Ravens 34 Bengals 27

Nick Polinsky

After a horrific start, the Bengals are right back in the thick of it and can get back to .500 with a win in Baltimore on thursday. Cincy just dismantled the Raiders but still haven’t been convincing as of lately, dropping their week 8 matchup against the Eagles 37-17.

We all saw what happened in this first matchup, points flying back and forth in a game that saw 79 total points over four quarters plus some OT. After these teams already saw each other just a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t expect these teams to put up those same offensive performances, especially on a short week.

Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase seem to always absolutely kill the Ravens secondary; fortunately Higgins looks like he’ll be out of the picture Thursday after suffering a quad injury a few weeks back in practice. If the Ravens can effectively cover Ja’Marr chase like they did on Thursday night last year, this game could be more comfortable than many expect.

John Harbaugh has never lost on Thursday Night Football at home, and the Ravens are breaking in their new purple rising helmets with their sweet color rush attire. This should be a fun one

• Ja’Marr Chase was held under wraps when the Bengals didn’t have Tee Higgins in their Thursday night matchup with Baltimore in 2023. He went for just 12 yards on 2 catches. Chase will be held under 50 yards in this year’s matchup.
• Derrick Henry against Cincinnati’s middle of the pack rush defense on a short week seems like a fun matchup for Baltimore. Henry will run for 125+ with a touchdown.
• Lamar Jackson will play a clean, turnover-free game as he has most games this year.

Ravens 34 Bengals 23

Chad Racine

I’m surprised the Ravens are 6 point favorites in this one. Yes they dominated last week but this defense is far from fixed. One fairly decent defensive game doesn’t make me very confident going against Burrow and company. I would expect this to be a shootout with hopefully just enough stops for the Ravens to pull it off. Lamar is playing at such an elite level right now that he’s clearly the front runner for the MVP again. This will be Lamar’s 7th season but he didn’t start his first season and missed the second half of two seasons. So of the four full seasons he’s played, provided he finishes this season and wins MVP again, he will have won the MVP three out of his four full seasons. That’s pretty amazing. Of course that’s not happened yet but it’s looking very likely. We need to cherish the level of play we’re getting as Ravens fans right now.

– Lamar Jackson will continue to show why he’s the best player in the game right now. He’ll have 4 passing touchdowns and 250 yards.

– Derrick Henry won’t get as many carries or yards but will have a rushing touchdown .

– Bateman, Andrews, Hill and Flowers will all have touchdown receptions.

– The defense will continue to make strides but will still give up three passing touchdowns and one rushing.

– Marlon Humphrey will be the defensive mvp with another critical interception.

Ravens 38 Bengals 34

Rob Shields

Lamar has owned the Bengals and Burrow and looks to continue that tonight as they play Cinci on a short week.

Advantage is almost always to the home team in short weeks, although that hasn’t been the case as much recently.

Still, it will be advantage Ravens this week as it looks like the Bengals will be without Tee Higgins, a player who has given them a lot of trouble over the years. On top of that, the bengals key IDL BJ Hill could also be out and Orlando Brown, who likely plays, won’t be 100%.  For the ravens, Isaiah Likely will be out and that could be an issue but for one game, Kolar should be fine.

The last game between these 2 was a shootout, as the a ravens escaped 41-38 in OT, thanks in large part to a botched FG attempt by Cinci.

We will continue to watch to see if the defense can improve. The Ravens didn’t trade for an edge rusher like most fans were hoping. As the interior Dline gets healthier (pass rush has gotten worse since Travis jones hurt his ankle), hopefully the pass rush will get better.

Look for the ravens offense to continue to cook tonight and I think no Higgins allows them to focus a lot on Chase and Brown.

Ravens 31 Bengals 24

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