Week 10 in the NFL gets underway from M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday night, where the Baltimore Ravens will play host to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Baltimore comes into this game with a 6-3 record, winning six of its last seven after an 0-2 start. Meanwhile, Cincinnati also started on the wrong foot, stumbling to a 1-4 record before stabilizing with three wins over the last month.
These two division rivals met earlier this season, and it was one of the more memorable matchups of the first half of the year. Baltimore edged out the win after going on a 10-0 run down the stretch in the fourth quarter to force overtime. In the extra period, a Lamar Jackson fumble looked like it was going to hand the Ravens a defeat, but a missed 53-yard field goal by Bengals placekicker Evan McPherson gave Baltimore new life, and they cashed it in with a chip-shot game-winner from Justin Tucker.
If this head-to-head comes anywhere close to that prior matchup, we’re in for quite a game. For more on this game and how to watch it, check out our full preview below.
Where to watch Bengals at Ravens
When the Bengals have the ball
Joe Burrow is coming off one of his better performances of the season in Week 9, where the Bengals quarterback threw for five touchdowns in a win over Las Vegas. The last time he threw for that many scores came back in Week 5 against these Ravens, albeit in a loss. Along with five passing touchdowns, Burrow had little problem slicing out the Baltimore secondary as he completed 30 of his 39 passes for a season-high 392 yards. Attacking the Ravens through the air will likely be the plan of attack yet again, as they are allowing 7.4 yards per pass attempt, which is the third-highest in the league.
His go-to for this game will be star wideout Ja’Marr Chase, who exploded against Baltimore last time out. Back in Week 5, Chase had 10 catches for 193 yards and two receiving touchdowns. That was the third-highest receiving yards total of his career.
While Chase has been dominant, the Cincinnati offense will take a hit as it will likely be without receiver Tee Higgins, who continues to be sidelined with a quad injury. He is officially listed as doubtful to play. This season, the Bengals are averaging 28.6 points per game when Higgins plays compared to 23.3 points per game when he does, so he’s nearly a six-point difference. The team is also 1-3 without him compared to 3-2 with him this year.
To help pick up the slack moving the football, Cincinnati could opt to lean on Chase Brown and the ground game. Brown posted a career-high 157 yards from scrimmage last week and has scored five touchdowns in his last six games. With Zack Moss (neck) sidelined indefinitely, the Bengals did trade for Khalil Herbert, who could also factor into the backfield touches.
When the Ravens have the ball
Baltimore has enjoyed having one of the most potent offenses in the NFL through the first half of the year. A large part of that is due to the duo of Jackson and Derrick Henry gashing opponents on the ground. Already, Henry has totaled 11 rushing touchdowns and is over a 1,000 yards (1,052) on the ground. While Henry has been otherworldly this season, the Bengals sneakily did a good job containing him for chunks of their previous matchup before he exploded in overtime. During regulation of that Week 5 matchup, Henry had 30 yards on 11 rushes and a touchdown. However, in overtime, he had 62 yards rushing on four attempts.
If they play more like they did during regulation, that could slow Henry some in this game. However, that would simply just open up Jackson to drop back and pass, which he has done at an elite level this season. Currently, Jackson leads the NFL in yards per pass attempt (9.3) and passer rating (120.7) and is tied for the lead in TD-INT ratio. His outlet has been Zay Flowers, who has 100 or more yards receiving in four of his last five games, which includes a 111-yard performance against this Bengals secondary.
Bengals vs. Ravens key matchup
After a slow start to the season, Mark Andrews has started to get hot in recent weeks. He has four receiving touchdowns over his last four games and has a strong matchup this week. The Bengals have been susceptible to opposing tight ends throughout the season and have given up the fourth-most receiving touchdowns to the position in the league. Andrews also had a season-high 55 yards receiving against them earlier in the year. If he is unlocked for this game, coupled with the continued strong play from Jackson, Henry and Flowers, it’ll be hard — if not impossible — for the Bengals to slow this offense down.
Prediction
I don’t foresee overtime being needed for this matchup this time around. The Ravens are playing too good at the moment to fade, and the trends point favorably to them on Thursday night. Baltimore is 4-0 ATS in its last four matchups against the Bengals, and Jackson has historically owned this matchup with a 9-1 straight-up record as a starter. While the Bengals are a perfect 4-0 ATS on the road this season, it’s a little hollow, considering that three of those road covers came against the Panthers, Giants and Browns. This will be a much tougher test, and expect the Ravens to win by at least a touchdown.
Projected score: Ravens 30, Bengals 23
The pick: Ravens -6
Bonus: SportsLine expert Mike Tierney is leaning toward the Under in this Thursday night game. Find out who he is leaning toward ATS in this AFC North showdown.