13 players to watch in Bengals vs. Ravens

Sunday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens is paramount for the Bengals. If the Bengals are going to be the team we thought they would be coming into the season, they need to win this game.

Right now, there are multiple national NFL analysts either saying the Ravens are the best team in the NFL or underestimating the Bengals. But despite a 1-3 record, the Bengals have looked like a team that’s better than that. At least on offense, they’ve looked better than 1-3.

Regardless, this game is paramount for the Bengals. They’re 4-8 against AFC North teams over the last two seasons. They need to win this game to show that what happened last year in the division, when they went 1-5, was a fluke.

LOOKING AT THE RAVENS

Head Coach: John Harbaugh – Harbaugh is as good of a head coach as there is in the NFL. He’s in his 17th season as the Ravens head coach, and he’s had a lot of success in his tenure as the Ravens head coach. Every time he’s been mentioned as a head coach potentially on the hot seat, he responds by leading the Ravens to wins in marquee games. Look at the last two weeks: the Ravens responded to an 0-2 start by beating the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills. Both games were either in prime time or at 4:25 on FOX’s America’s Game of the Week. Harbaugh is 17-15 against the Bengals, but 0-1 in the Playoffs.

Offensive Coordinator: Todd Monken – Monkey helped Lamar Jackson win his second MVP award last season, Monken’s first as the Ravens offensive coordinator. He came to Baltimore after leading the Georgia Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships. Monken has been an offensive coordinator in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016-18) and Cleveland Browns (2019). His experience and pedigree are impressive, and he has the Ravens offense playing at a high level and displaying a high level of versatility.

Defensive Coordinator: Zachary Orr – The best situation for any coordinator to be in is when he’s handed the keys to a shiny car. That’s the case for Zachary Orr, who takes over a Ravens defense with Pro Bowlers and All-Pros at all three levels. The Ravens defense hasn’t been as dominant this season as they were last year, but they’re still a really good unit. In an AFC North game, the Bengals can’t take them lightly.

Quarterback: Lamar Jackson – Let’s put the debates about who’s better between Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson aside for a moment. Jackson, undoubtedly, is a really good quarterback. His playing style works, and it works at a highly effective level. He’s a better passer than he’s given credit for, and he is one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the NFL. Jackson is on pace to rush for over 1,300 yards this season while also being on pace for over 3,500 yards passing. He is the most dynamic quarterback in the NFL and always plays well against the Bengals.

1) Derrick Henry, Running Back: Henry is just built differently. No running back who’s 6’2” and 247 lbs. should be able to run at 21.23 miles per hour. That’s the speed Henry reached on his 87-yard touchdown on the Ravens’ first offensive play last week against Buffalo. In his last two games, Henry has 350 yards rushing. At 480 yards rushing through four games, he is on pace with 2,040 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. The Bengals have had some great performances against Henry when he was with the Titans. They’ll need to channel those against him on Sunday.

2) Roquan Smith, Linebacker: Smith is the enforcer of the Ravens defense. In each of his first six seasons, the former first-round pick had over 100 tackles, including three seasons with over 150 tackles. The two-time First-Team All-Pro solidifies the toughness of the Ravens defense, one that has given Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense problems the last two seasons. Smith will be in peak form on Sunday, and he is a player that will determine the outcome of the game.

3) Isaiah Likely, Tight End: Likely has become the Ravens’ new No. 1 tight end, and he is definitely a player to watch for. If you watched Opening Kickoff Night, you saw Likely shred the Chiefs defense for nine catches, 111 yards, and a touchdown. Even though he has just four catches for 56 yards in the Ravens previous three games, we’ve seen Likely take over several marquee games going back to last year. Keep your eye on the Bengals linebackers covering Likely in this game.

4) Kyle Hamilton, Safety: One of the most versatile safeties in the game, Hamilton is emerging as one of the NFL’s best at his position. He really makes you wonder how the Ravens front office is able to consistently hit on all of these defensive draft picks. Already on a 109-tackle pace this season, Hamilton had four interceptions last year. Burrow is going to make sure he knows where Hamilton is at all times in this game.

5) Nnamdi Madubuike, Defensive Tackle: The AFC North is known for its great pass rushers. Baltimore’s best pass rusher is in the interior of its defensive line. Madubuike had 13 sacks last season. For a defensive tackle, that is really good. He’s been quiet on the stat sheet through four games, but he will come ready to play in this AFC North battle.

6) Zay Flowers, Wide Receiver: Flowers scares me. The Bengals secondary has been leaky through four games this season, and Flowers is a big play waiting to happen. You might remember he had a huge reception after now-Bengals safety Geno Stone’s interception of Burrow in the third quarter. That catch set up a Ravens touchdown that firmly put the game in their hands. Flowers has explosive speed that complements the Ravens’ lethal running game. That could spell trouble for the Bengals secondary.

7) Rashod Bateman, Wide Receiver: Bateman hasn’t had that breakout season the Ravens have been waiting for since they drafted him in 2021. He does have nine catches for 144 yards and a touchdown so far this season.

8) Mark Andrews, Tight End: Andrews has always played well against the Bengals. It seems like he finds the end zone in every matchup between the Bengals and Ravens. While Andrews hasn’t had the best start to the season, with just six catches for 65 yards, he’s still a player to watch for.

9) Justice Hill, Running Back: Henry is the thunder of the Ravens running back room. Hill is the lightning. Last week against Buffalo, Hill had six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Watch for him as a receiving threat out of the backfield this week.

10) Kyle Van Noy, Outside Linebacker: Van Noy is on a ridiculous streak with two sacks in three straight games. That’s a scary premise for this Bengals offensive line that hasn’t faced a lot of the NFL’s premier pass rushers through the first four weeks. The Bengals tackle duo of Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims will have their hands full with Van Noy in Sunday.

11) Marlon Humphrey, Cornerback: Humphrey will be matched up against Ja’Marr Chase on Sunday, making for an elite one-on-one matchup. Chase has had some great games against the Ravens throughout his career, including eight receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown in his first career game against them in 2021. Humphrey is still one of the NFL’s most notable physical cornerbacks, and he is not going to make life easy for Chase on Sunday.

12) Ronnie Stanley, Left Tackle: Stanley is still one of the NFL’s most solid left tackles. He’s consistently been graded in the 70s at Pro Football Focus, including a 76.4 grade so far this season. He will be blocking against Trey Hendrickson, which will be a key matchup in this game.

13) Tyler Linderbaum, Center: Linderbaum was on the radar as a potential Bengals first-round draft pick in 2022. Ultimately, the Ravens drafted Linderbaum to help the Ravens up front and in their running game. The Bengals defensive line will have to get through Linderbaum to shut down the Ravens running game.

Special Teams: Chris Horton – Horton is in his sixth season as the Ravens special teams coordinator.

Kicker: Justin Tucker – Tucker has not had the start to the season we’ve come to know him as. He’s missed three of his first eight field goal attempts through the Ravens first four games. He also does not have a made field goal from 50+ yards this season. Still, though, the Bengals can’t let the Ravens get past even midfield if the game comes down to the final possession.

Punter: Jordan Stout – Stout is averaging 42.6 yards per punt on 14 attempts this season with a long of 57 yards. Stout has no touchbacks and eight punts inside the 20-yard line.

Long Snapper: Nick Moore – Moore is in his fifth season with the Ravens.

Kick/Punt Returner: Deonte Harty – Harty is averaging 11.6 yards per punt return and has 51 kickoff return yards on two kickoff returns.

FRANKIE’S GAMEPLAN TO VICTORY

1) Play from ahead: This goes without saying. If the Bengals fall behind this Ravens team, that’s not going to be good with the way Baltimore is running the ball. You can’t even think about the Ravens blowing big leads, especially after they won by 25 points last week.

2) Limit the explosive plays: If the Bengals can make the Ravens have to work and grind out long drives, that will wear their offense down. The Ravens offense lives on chunk plays and then hitting the home-run play. If the Bengals can limit those home-run plays, they can still win this game even if the Ravens get their yards.

3) Run the ball on offense: This will be keep the Ravens offense off the field and the Bengals defense some much-needed rest. The Bengals have more ways to run the ball this season, and those ways can work. Beating the Ravens at their own game can work in this game on Sunday.

4) Convert in the red zone: This is a must. Scoring touchdowns will put the pressure on the Ravens. There is pressure on the Bengals to play near perfect in this game, and Burrow talked about that this week. A good way to take that pressure off is to put it on the Ravens to match the Bengals score-for-score. Scoring touchdowns in the red zone is how the Bengals put the Ravens in that situation.

SCORE PREDICTION: Bengals 30 – Ravens 27 (Evan McPherson hits from 44 yards as time expires)

I have believed this all week, and that’s that the Bengals will win because they have Joe Burrow. Burrow is dialed in right now. He’s locked in. Burrow knows the importance of this game, and he’s not going to let the Bengas fall to 0-3 at home and 1-4 overall. Burrow always starts playing his best football in October, and Sunday will be the latest example of that. It will be game on in the AFC North when the Bengals win this highly-important game.