Thursday | 8:15 ET
Last week, the NFL saw a record-high amount of last second game-winning field goals (5). Two of the unfortunate victims of the wild week will face off on Thursday Night Football. Both teams had four game winning streaks broken by a last-second field goal. The Bengals, who seemed to be back on track, come into this matchup sitting in last place in the AFC North after a tough loss to the surging Houston Texans. Things don’t get much easier for Cincinnati, as they’ll head to Baltimore to face an angry Ravens team. The Ravens were up 24-9 last week against the Browns, but managed to let the game slip away. Both teams are explosive and very entertaining. Thursday Night should present an AFC North classic.
The Bengals offense, even without wide receiver Tee Higgins and a hobbled Ja’Marr Chase, stayed hot last week. Chase was clearly not 100%, but still put up 124 yards and a touchdown on five catches. He’ll only be more healthy by the time Thursday comes around, but Higgins is not expected to play.
Burrow will face a tough challenge in the Ravens secondary. Baltimore has allowed the least passing touchdowns in the NFL this year. 14 of the Bengals’ 18 touchdowns in 2023 have come through the air. Ravens safety Geno Stone has been a revelation this year, ranking first in PFF coverage grade among safeties. S Kyle Hamilton also showed how dynamic he is in Week 10 with a pick-six on the opening drive of the game. CB Marlon Humphrey is having yet another good season, and will probably be locked onto Ja’Marr Chase. This will be a big matchup to watch for. If Chase is kept quiet, the Bengals will be in trouble.
It should also be noted that the Ravens are first in sacks this season by a wide margin (39, next closest is 33). Justin Madubuike already has 8.5. He’ll see a lot of guards Alex Cappa and Cordell Volson on Thursday Night, who rank 55th and 73rd in PFF pass block grade among 77 qualified guards, respectively. Madubuike has a good chance to put his stamp on this game.
Switching sides, I see the Ravens with a glaring advantage. As discussed in previous iterations of this article, Baltimore’s offense can do anything. It can move the ball and score in any way, whether it be through the wide receivers, the tight end, on the ground, or with the quarterback’s legs. However, its greatest strength is its rushing attack.
The Ravens have logged the most carries in the NFL, the most rushing touchdowns, the most yards by a wide margin, and are second in yards per carry. They run often and are very efficient at it. A great offensive line, headlined by center Tyler Linderbaum, along with the threat of quarterback Lamar Jackson keeping the ball, is what makes this possible.
Meanwhile, the Bengals’ defensive weakness is, you guessed it: stopping the run. They are allowing the second highest yards per carry in the NFL (5.0). The team has given up the 7th-most rushing yards despite only facing the 21st-most carries. Just last week, Cincinnati allowed 150 rushing yards to the Texans’ backup running back, Devin Singletary. Baltimore is going to run all over this defense with RBs Gus Edwards and hot rookie Keaton Mitchell.
The Bengals have aggressive cornerbacks which may give the Ravens receivers some trouble, but I’m afraid it won’t play much of a factor.
This is a bad matchup for the Bengals. Though I’m hoping for a good game, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ravens ran away with it. I expect big numbers on the ground for them, and Joe Burrow to struggle on the road with receiver injuries against a phenomenal secondary.