Ravens or Bengals – who will get back on track?
The NFL has hardly done itself any favors with the last primetime games, but now a real highlight awaits in the “Thursday Night Game”! Even though both teams blew the dress rehearsal for this game, it is not only the top game in the AFC North, but also an absolute playoff-relevant matchup in the American Football Conference. If the visitors want to seriously challenge for first place in their own division, they should definitely aim for victory at the “M&T Bank Stadium”.
The Ravens marched impressively for a long time against their division rivals from Cleveland last week, but the Browns had the better end. In the final quarter, the offense was unable to counter the best defense in the league and the actually strong Ravens defense ended up allowing 33 points. More than ever before this season. A reason to worry?
The Bengals’ run was halted by the Houston Texans, who prevailed 30-27 in Ohio. It was Cincinnati’s first defeat after four wins in a row. As a result, they were unable to close the gap on Baltimore in the division and are still two wins behind their upcoming opponents. This once again underlines how important a win in Maryland would be for Zac Taylor’s team. In the duel between the Ravens and Bengals, there are odds of up to 2.55 for an away win.
Baltimore Ravens – Statistics & current form
Four wins in a row for John Harbaugh’s team before the streak came to an abrupt end against Cleveland of all teams. To make matters worse, they lost after leading 31:17 in the final quarter. Nevertheless, the Ravens are still one of the top teams in the NFL because they have the second-best defensive unit in addition to the top 8 offense.
The offense is running at full speed
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has had an absolutely elite season so far, so it’s telling that he threw two interceptions in a game for the first time this season against the Browns. Nevertheless, he completed passes for 223 and ran for 41 yards himself. He continues to lead the league in quarterback rushing yards.
But he is not the only threat in the rushing game. The backfield is spread out and so it is Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and rookie Keaton Mitchell who repeatedly get running attempts in the offense. Mitchell recently impressed with two touchdown runs of 40 and 39 against Seattle and Cleveland respectively. Will he also contribute a touchdown in the third game? When the Ravens host the Bengals, these odds are certainly tempting.
But it’s not just on the ground that the Ravens usually move the ball well. Jackson has probably never had such a diverse group of receivers in his career. In addition to tight end Mark Andreas, wide receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and, of course, Odell Beckham also shine.
We already mentioned the strong defense at the beginning – and this can of course also be proven by the numbers: with an average of 15.7, they allow the fewest points and the second fewest yards to the opponent, and they are also a top 3 pass defense. Only against the run have they been vulnerable from time to time, but beating them on the ground in the upcoming matchup is almost out of the question. With that said, the matchup for the Ravens vs. Bengals definitely looks good in our prediction.
Key Players:
- QB: Lamar Jackson
- RB: Keaton Mitchell
- WR: Zay Flowers
- TE: Mark Andrews
- K: Justin Tucker
Cincinnati Bengals – stats & current form
It was probably the surprise of the last game day. Cincinnati – clearly favored – lost at home to Houston with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. They now have five wins and four defeats and lost the last playoff spot in the AFC to the Texans. Despite the loss, a prediction that both franchises will make the postseason before the Ravens vs. Bengals clash is extremely tempting. The interim winning streak of the team from Ohio certainly gives us hope
Too dependent on the passing game
The problem continues to be – and here we come back to the good matchup that awaits the home side – that there is almost nothing to be gained for Cincinnati in the rushing game. 74.8 yards per game means last place in this statistic and thus the offensive output is almost completely dependent on Joe Burrow, his receivers and the associated passing game. If this is limited, this unit will quickly run into problems.
However, the absolute plus point for the Bengals is their wide receiver unit, which compensated well for the absence of Tee Higgins last week, for example, although it lacked some explosiveness as a result. Against Houston, it was the tight ends in particular who were more involved in the passing game, with Tanner Hudson serving as the 26-year-old playmaker’s point of contact seven times.
In a direct comparison, the defensive position group cannot even begin to keep up with that of the upcoming opponent and to prove that, we’ll use the statistics again: The Cincinnati defense allows an average of 5.6 points and 110.4 yards more per game and has not shone in either run or pass defense so far.
Key Players:
- QB: Joe Burrow
- RB: Joe Mixon
- WR: Ja’Marr Chase
- TE: Irv Smith Jr.
- K: Evan McPherson
Baltimore Ravens – Cincinnati Bengals head-to-head comparison / H2H record
In this divisional matchup, it makes sense to look at the first meeting of the season between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. A bet that a similar number of points (51) will be scored as in week two seems by no means out of the question. Both teams are now playing at a higher level offensively and defensively compared to the clash on September 17, making this match an absolute showdown in which the hosts are rightly the 3.5-point favorites. In addition, home field advantage favors the Ravens, who have won four of their last five games against their division rivals at home in M&T Bank Stadium. Like all primetime games, you can watch this one on streaming provider DAZN.
There are injury concerns for both teams, however, as is usual at this point in the season: Baltimore could be without offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, while Cincinnati will once again be without Tee Higgins. In addition, Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson is likely out
Baltimore Ravens – Cincinnati Bengals Tip
The question is whether the performance of the Zac Taylor team will have consequences for the performance in Maryland, because there the offense looked as sluggish as at the beginning of the season. Nevertheless, our confidence in this offense has not been shaken and we therefore expect them to find starting points against the strong defense again – as in the first duel of the year.
However, we can apply this reasoning almost one-to-one to the home side in the upcoming game. We do not believe that Jackson’s form curve or the offense will collapse after the third loss of the season. That’s why we’re going with the recommendation that more than 45 points will find their way onto the scoreboard in the 57th clash between the two franchises.
Are you currently looking for a new bookmaker? What criteria are important to you? In addition to good betting odds, it is becoming increasingly important that the bookie provides a user-friendly app or which payment methods it offers.
