Playing the Bengals at home allows the Ravens to seize control of the division. And they’ll do just that.
WHAT: Week Six vs. Cincinnati Bengals
WHEN: 1 p.m. (ET); Sunday, October 13
WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore (71,008)
RECORDS: Bengals, 0-5; Ravens, 3-2
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Tied, 23-23; in Baltimore, the Ravens are 15-8 against Cincinnati but have lost three of the last five home meetings. Cincinnati has won nine of the previous 13 games between these teams.
TV: WJZ-TV, Channel 13 (Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon, booth; Jay Feely, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Jarret Johnson, booth; Kirk McEwen, sidelines)
REFEREE: Clay Martin
About the Bengals
—As they did on their visit last year, Cincinnati will wear white jerseys and black pants for its initial 2019 intradivisional match at Baltimore. Since the team redesigned its jerseys at the start of the 2004 season, this combination has produced the second-worst record among the seven possible combinations the Bengals wear. Cincinnati is 28-35 (.444) in the white-black combo.
—The Bengals were born in 1968 as an American Football League expansion franchise and were the last of that league’s ten teams to join the league before it merged with the NFL two years later. They are currently playing in their 52nd season. In their first season in the AFC after the 1970 merger, the Bengals made the playoffs but lost in the Divisional round to the Baltimore Colts at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, 17-0.
—The Bengals franchise has appeared in the playoffs 14 times in 51 completed seasons, including nine division titles–four since the AFC North was formed in 2002. They have played in two Super Bowls (16, 23), losing both to the San Francisco 49ers, but haven’t won a postseason game since after the 1990 season–despite a franchise-record five straight playoff berths from 2011-15.
—For the seventh time in nine years, including six in a row at one point, the first of the two annual Ravens-Bengals games are being played in Baltimore. The return match is scheduled for Cincinnati on November 10. The Bengals will be coming off their bye week. The Ravens have swept the head-to-head series six times (none since 2011), while the Bengals have also recorded six sweeps. There have been 11 splits.
—Overall, Cincinnati has won eight of its last 11, and nine of the last 13 meetings, with the Ravens. After they won the first meeting last year, the Bengals led the overall head-to-head series against Baltimore for the first time since 1998, when it was 3-2. But there has been a great deal of suspense for 11 of the last 13 games between these teams in Baltimore, which have been decided by one score, including the last six straight.
—The Bengals are in the midst of a tough early schedule. They’ve already faced three of the four NFC West teams. And, with this week’s game at Baltimore, they concluded a season-opening stretch that will have seen them play four of their first six games on the road. They also have a game in London scheduled just before their bye week. Cincy plays three home games in four weeks after that.
—The winless Bengals have played some of their games close–losing to Seattle, Buffalo, and Arizona by a total of eight points–but getting blown out by San Francisco and Pittsburgh. They often get off to slow starts, getting outscored in the first quarter, 29-16, as well as in the third, 24-10.The offense is heavily unbalanced. The team has run 94 rushing plays and 224 pass plays (including sacks allowed). They have fumbled the ball ten times, losing six of them to the opponents, and have already allowed 15 touchdowns through five games (seven rushing, six passing, two returns).
—For most of last season, the Bengals ranked at or near the bottom of the AFC in average possession time. That’s a nearly fatal flaw when going up against a run-dominated team, like Baltimore. Through five games this year, Cincinnati is doing slightly better, averaging 29:10 per game, which ranks 20th in the league. One of the Bengals’ best efforts in this category last year came against the Ravens in the first meeting between the teams, when the Bengals held the ball for 31:50.
—Cincinnati has committed 37 accepted penalties in five games–a total that is just two more than Baltimore’s. That performance ranks Cincy in the middle of the NFL pack. The Bengals have committed six false-start penalties and five offensive holding calls, but the team has not been called once for either offensive pass interference or illegal contact on defense. Only four Bengals have more than two penalties; tackle Andre Smith leads the team with four flags (two false starts, two holds).
—The Bengals currently sport a desultory minus-5 turnover ratio, tied with Atlanta and the New York Giants for the league’s second-worst. Only Miami (minus-7) is worse. But the Bengals are 14-3 against the Ravens when they win the turnover battle. They are 2-17 when they don’t. They have intercepted only two passes on defense and recovered three fumbles. The team’s ten giveaways are tied for the second-most, and Cincinnati is one of only five teams that have turned the ball over ten or more times. The Bengals have been charged with six dropped passes, tied with Chicago and Pittsburgh for the fourth-most. Wide receiver John Ross is tied for the league lead with four.
—Former Ravens’ defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis spent 16 seasons at the helm of the Bengals. He is second in NFL head-coaching seniority to the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick (19), Zac Taylor took over this year. One of six new head coaches around the league, Taylor is the tenth head coach in franchise history. He came to The Queen City after serving as a Los Angeles Rams’ assistant (wide receivers and quarterbacks) under Sean McVay. Before that, he had been on the staff at the University of Cincinnati, where Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh also worked early in his career. This will be Taylor’s first game against the Ravens. Lewis was 19-13 against Baltimore.
—The Bengals are ranked 26th in total offense (31st rushing at 61.2 yards per game, ninth passing, 29th scoring at 16 points per game). They are second-worst in the red zone, scoring touchdowns at a 28.5 percent rate. Their 18 first downs per game are the league’s sixth-lowest figure. Defensively, the team is allowing 411.8 yards per game, good for a 31st-place ranking (next-to-last). They are also 31st vs. rush at 167 yards per game, 17th vs. pass, and 27th in scoring, allowing 27.2 points per game. The team is allowing 8.42 yards per pass play, a figure that is the league’s third-worst.
–-Ninth-year quarterback Andy Dalton was a 2011 second-round pick (35th overall) out of TCU. He has played well against the Ravens, beating them eight times–his second-most wins over any opponent (Cleveland, 11). In those games, he has completed 56.7 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns, but with 17 interceptions, which is the most against any opponent. He has played to a 77.7 rating against Baltimore and has been sacked 29 times. He also has nine touchdowns and no interceptions in his last three games against the Ravens. This year, the three-time Pro Bowl pick has completed 63.2 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 86.9. His season-high rating of 107.6 came against Arizona last week.
—Third-year workhorse running back Joe Mixon, who had a season-high 109 total yards last week, has had a star-crossed career. His draft stock was hurt due to domestic violence issues. Then he was slowed in 2017 by an ankle problem and a concussion. Despite the presence of versatile, change-of-pace back Giovani Bernard, Mixon still gets the lion’s share of the carries. This year, he has 66 rushes for a 3.7-yard average, but without a rush longer than 18 yards. Bernard has only 19 carries and a 2.4-yard average. Neither one of the team’s principal backs has a rushing touchdown. Dalton has one.
—Standout receiver AJ Green has had a tendency to get injured and miss games against the Ravens. He missed last year’s second meeting with a toe injury, and the ankle ailment he incurred during training camp has kept him off the field entirely this year. Hamstring problems kept him from facing the Ravens in 2016. Also, speedster John Ross’ shoulder problem has landed him on injured reserve. He could return later this season. Behind those two, Tyler Boyd has taken over the team lead with 37 catches, an 11-yard average, and a touchdown. Last week, he had ten catches for 123 yards and a score against Arizona. Second-year receiver Auden Tate is a 6-foot-5, 228-pounder, who scored his first career touchdown last week. Tight end Tyler Eifert has hauled in 13 passes with a score. Bernard and Mixon each have 12 catches.
—The Bengals’ offensive line has also been affected by injuries and ineffectiveness. The unit has allowed 20 sacks. Eighth-year veteran left tackle Cordy Glenn, acquired in a trade with Buffalo last year, has been slowed by a concussion. His backup, swing tackle, and former first-round pick Andre Smith, has allowed three sacks and 14 pressures over the season’s first month. Veteran guard Alex Redmond is returning from a suspension this week, but it’s not known if he will play against Baltimore. Ex-New York Giant Bobby Hart is a right tackle in his second year with the team. He can also play guard. Last year’s first-round pick, center Billy Price (Ohio State), got injured at the scouting combine (pectoral). After healing, he won the starting job before getting hurt and losing it to Trey Hopkins, who was previously the line’s top backup. In 2017, Hopkins got called for just one false start and one hold.
—In the past, Cincinnati used to get a great push from its 4-3 defensive line. But last year, the team fell out of the top ten in scoring defense for the first time since 2014. It has failed in getting any pressure this year. One small note of consolation: even though the team has just six sacks, five of them come from the defensive line. But the Bengals still have created pocket pressure without blitzing 28.4 percent of the time, second-best in the AFC and fourth in the NFL. Six-time Pro Bowl pick Geno Atkins has been one of the best interior pass rushers in the league in recent years, but he has just one sack so far. Atkins does have three sacks in his last two games against the Ravens, but Atkins’ sack totals have started to lag a bit behind edge rusher Carlos Dunlap, who has three sacks in his past five games against Baltimore. Since they entered the league together, Atkins and Dunlap are the only teammates with at least 70 sacks each. Second-year defensive end Sam Hubbard leads the team with three sacks.
—At the linebacker level, Cincinnati lists only two primary linebackers. The team uses a 4-2-5 alignment, which is pretty standard these days in a passing-dominated league. The Bengals dipped into the free-agent market last year to sign former Buffalo Bills’ veteran Preston Brown. His presence came in handy last season after the since-departed Vontaze Burfict was suspended. Fourth-year outside linebacker Nick Vigil is second on the team with 38 total tackles, and Brown is third with 37. Vigil led the Bengals with 13 total tackles in last week’s narrow home loss to Arizona.
—In a nickel secondary, which is the team’s base look, safeties Shawn Williams and Jessie Bates are a respective first and fourth on the team in tackles with 43 and 35. The team did a better job creating turnovers last year. Bates got his first career interception against Baltimore in the Bengals’ Week Two home win–but has intercepted just two passes over the first five games. Cornerback William Jackson has one of those. Veteran Dre Kirkpatrick starts opposite Jackson, with BW Webb at the nickel. Webb played with a cast on his arm against Arizona last week.
—Fourth-year return specialist and backup wide receiver Alex Erickson had to leave the Arizona game last week with a concussion. Erickson’s status for Baltimore is unknown. On punt returns, he has seven runbacks and seven fair catches, playing to a seven-yard average with no return longer than 11 yards. On kickoffs, Erickson is one of four players that has run back kicks for the Bengals this year. The team is averaging 24.3 yards per return. The coverage teams are a mixed bag. The punt-coverage team allows four yards a return, and the kick-coverage unit yields 21.8 per runback.
—Cincinnati is one of the few teams that can match the Ravens in longevity in the kicking game. Kicker Randy Bullock missed a conversion kick last year, but he has hit all eight of those this year, as well as going 8-for-10 on field goals. He has missed in the 40-49 yard range, as well as his only attempt from beyond 50 yards. Punter Kevin Huber has two touchbacks and six coffin-corner punts in 23 attempts. He is grossing 43.4 yards per punt and–thanks to good punt coverage from his teammates–is netting 40.3 per attempt.
Prediction
No matter where the Bengals are in the standings, in recent years, they’ve given the Ravens a tough time. The Bengals will have seen what Cleveland did to Baltimore and probably sense an opportunity to get their first win of the year this Sunday.
They’ll meet a team that’s still trying to erase the bad taste associated with a two-game slide that wiped out a solid early start to the year. A win at Pittsburgh not only reversed the negative trend, but it also allowed Baltimore to seize control of the division. And that’s what the Ravens will do this week.
Bengals-Ravens games in Baltimore are usually close. This one won’t be.
Baltimore 30, Cincinnati 16
