The Bengals are looking for their first real AFC North win since the 2022 season.
The Cincinnati Bengals are officially in the win column with a quality road victory against old friend Andy Dalton and the Carolina Panthers. After a clunker in the opener, the Bengals’ offense has come alive, scoring an average of 31 points per game in the last three contests.
The problem? Cincinnati’s defense has been allowing 29.3 in that same span, resulting in an overall 1-3 record.
That isn’t the best news for the Bengals, who welcome their divisional foe, the Baltimore Ravens, to town on Sunday. The birds from the east just stomped the formidable Buffalo Bills 35-10 on Sunday night, proving to be a huge problem for Lou Anarumo.
Even so, the early line on the upcoming game shows a tight one between the Rivals. FanDuel Sportsbook currently has Baltimore as a slight favorite at -2.5 points with an over/under of 50.5 points.
One of Cincinnati’s biggest priorities this offseason was to make more hay within the division. Their lone AFC North win in 2023 came in the season finale against the Cleveland Browns, which was largely a meaningless game with Cleveland resting nearly all of its relevant players. You have to go back to the 2022-23 Wild Card win over Baltimore to find the last time the Bengals won a real game within the division.
While the Bengals’ season hasn’t gotten off to the start many envisioned (some of the same can be said of the Ravens), they can take a big step in the right direction with a big home win over Lamar Jackson and Co.
