It’s the first of two AFC North rivalry games between them in a three-week span. Cincinnati has struggled in night games in Baltimore.
Here are three things to know going into the matchup:
1. When the Bengals are on offense…
Burrow had everything going for him as he prepared for the 2025 season but still got off to a slow start and then suffered a turf toe injury in the second quarter of Game 2. Now, he’s back after nine weeks out of action and hoping he can find midseason form fast.
The Bengals had one of the worst offenses through Week 5, then got back on track with Joe Flacco under center, but his heroics still weren’t enough. They’re the 14th best passing offense in the league to this point with 222.2 yards per game and scoring 22.5 points per game.
Baltimore’s defense was off to a rough start but has been top-notch through a five-game winning streak. The Ravens allowed 35.4 points per game in the first five weeks, then started to turn a corner in a 17-3 loss to the Rams in Week 6 and have surrendered 19 points or less in each game since.
Opponents are averaging just 14.0 points against Baltimore the last six games.
“You see a team playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “I see a ton of veterans out there. You list by position the skins on the wall each of these guys have. It’s really impressive. They’ve got great veteran leadership over there, so you see a high level of communication with those guys.”
The Ravens have just 18 sacks this season (still three more than the Bengals), but rookie second-round draft pick Mike Green leads with 2.5 sacks and 9 quarterback hits. Linebackers Teddye Buchanan (80 tackles) and Roquan Smith (79 tackles) anchor the middle of the defense, and first-round draft pick Malaki Starks has been impressive playing safety next to Kyle Hamilton.
Nate Wiggins leads the secondary with three interceptions, while fellow cornerback Marlon Humphrey adds one interception and one fumble recovery to go with two forced fumbles.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
2. When the Bengals are on defense…
The Ravens offense has been pretty solid all season, and Jackson and running back Derrek Henry are sure to test a Bengals run defense that has struggled while allowing 156.0 rushing yards per game.
Henry leads the league’s sixth-best rushing attack with 871 yards and nine touchdowns on 187 carries, while Jackson, one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league, adds 237 yards and one touchdown on 46 carries.
“We’ve got to stop the run, that’s for sure, because they’ve got a guy back there that’s one of the greats of all time,” said Bengals safety Geno Stone, who began his career with the Ravens before coming to Cincinnati last year. “So, we have to be able to defend the run and take the ball away from them, that’s the way to beat him.”
Stone added that stopping Henry with low tackles is the key because he has a great stiff-arm move to shed defenders. Baltimore ranks 10th in scoring offense with 25.0 points per game. The Bengals have allowed a league-most 32.7 points and 415.8 yards, despite showing progress the last two weeks.
Cincinnati cleaned up its tackling issues by emphasizing getting more players to the ball, and Stone, one of the worst offenders of missed tackles, said he spent extra time on space tackling with Jordan Battle all last week.
The Bengals still have struggled against tight ends, though, and Baltimore has another good one in Mark Andrews. Zay Flowers is Jackson’s top target with 761 yards and one touchdown on 58 catches, and Andrews is right behind him with 285 yards on 33 catches with five touchdowns.
3. Injuries of note…
Taylor declared Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis), Tee Higgins (concussion) and Tahj Brooks (concussion) out for the week Monday, but wanted to get through practices before making a declaration for Samaje Perine (ankle) and Cam Sample (oblique).
Perine was a full participant Tuesday and in the estimated report for Monday when the team did not practice, while Sample was limited both days. Cornerback Marco Wilson (hamstring) was the only other injured player missing practice time, and it wasn’t looking good for him after missing the first two practice days. Joe Flacco was back to full participation despite dislocating his finger Sunday.
The Ravens had some key players nursing injuries with wide receiver Rashod Bateman (ankle) limited Monday and Tuesday, defensive tackle Taven Bryan (knee) out both days and running back Justice Hill (neck), the brother of Bengals cornerback Dax Hill, popping up on the injury report Tuesday as a non-participant.
Hamilton and nose tackle Travis Jones (ankle) were both upgraded from not practicing to limited Tuesday.
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