Week 2: Ravens @ Bengals

Short week. Coming off a dominant performance. Bengals took care of business in Indy and beat Luck's Colts convincingly. This is on the Bengals home turf where they've been tough to beat. The Colt's middling defense allowed 344 total yards, 101 on the ground and 4 TDs. Their defense capitalized on a forced fumble and added another TD late in the game.

It's hard to take the Bills win so seriously as any kind of statement game as we don't really know how bad/good they are. Cincy has proven itself to be a tough win in recent years. I'm not quite as confident that it's an utter rout like week 1. That said I feel reasonably assured of a win.

Ravens 24 - Bengals 20

 

Ravens 30. Bengals 13.

Cincy had to rally from being 13 down late in the 3rd. It's impressive, but they shouldn't have struggled to begin with against the Colts defense. Luck is back in his first real game in over a year.

I could be riding the wave of week one, but I don't believe this team will get beat again by the team that eliminated them from the post season just last year. The first two games of this year are the Ravens revenge tour and I'm expecting it to be a successful tour for Baltimore

 

I was going to mention the same thing. The score of the Bengals Colts game was very deceiving as a late fumble gave Cincy a cheap score, but before the Doyle fumble, the Colts were driving and were looking to score to put it away.

The Bengals had some issues with the Colts porous defense so I feel good with the Ravens defense matching up with them.

I would like the see the Ravens establish a running game on Thursday to stay away from throwing the ball almost 40 times like they did versus the Bills.

I can see the Ravens winning this one in better conditions and coming off really just about a half a game played by the starters.

27 to 17 Ravens.....

 

I think this will be a real test for the Ravens. More than most other games, this one will be won in the trenches. The Bungles upgraded their OL. This is important not just for giving Dalton time, but mostly for blocking & opening holes for Mixon. Can the Ravens DL overpower the Bungles OL and keep Mixon at bay and continue to put pressure against Dalton? Also, can Humphrey defend Green as well as Jimmy used to?

The Bungles DL is one of the most formidable in the NFL. Dunlap, Atkins, Johnson, & billings are terrors both against the run as well as rushing the passer. Can the Ravens OL hold them off to give Flacco time to find his receivers as well as open holes for the running game (that part they didn't too well against Buffalo).

The good news:
Flacco usually has some of his best games against the Bungles, while Dalton usually has some of his worst against the Ravens.
Burfict is still out on a suspension.
The Bungle defense still plays "dirty" as seen by the hit & ejection of a Bungles player against Indy. They could rack up the penalties.
The new WR's as well as all 3 TE's are all on the same page as Flacco.
Flacco is completely healthy and rejuvenated.
The Bungles are still the Bungles until proven otherwise.
As mentioned, most of the starters got extra rest during the Buffalo game.

The bad news:
The Ravens OL could be a problem.
Mixon is the new Leveon Bell and Todd Gurley, both rushing and receiving.
If Dixon is out, that only leaves Collins & Allen. Don't know if Collins will be able to get it going against the Bungles DL & LB's.

I think this one will be a tough game, but still predicting a Ravens win. Wink's defensive schemes will confuse Dalton the way Rex's did. Williams, Pierce, Urban, & Wormley close the gaps, make life difficult for Dalton, & Peanut/K. Young keep tabs on Eifert. The secondary makes some key picks and has tight coverage on the receivers.
Ravens win 27-20.

 

I've read on a Bengals forum that they are very, very, concerned about the right side of their o-line. That's apparently where their weakness is. On the other side, I expect them to dominate up the middle. I have no confidence in Skura or Lewis. Both are too physically weak to man the middle against tougher D-tackles. Yanda will be fine. The OTs are also a concern for Baltimore.

I disagree with the first part. Flacco's career against Cincinnati has been fairly bad. 19 TDs, 23 INTs, and a 72.3 QB rating. Dalton against the Ravens is at 15 TDs, 17 INTs, and a 74.1 QB rating. Both suck against the other's team.

I want a blowout. I hope there's a blowout. I want the team to walk in with the expectation of crushing the Bengals. And I expect to see it happen. But I can't say I'd be surprised if it doesn't......

 

Me too, but I don't see it.

Didn't realize that about Flacco. For some reason I thought he played them well.

This is usually a very emotional game for both sides. The Bungles defensive backfield and LB's still play a bit sloppy. If some of the Ravens vets like Suggs, Yanda, Crabtree, Snead, etc can get into their heads, then I can see penalty flags flying. But, that also means the Ravens players will have to keep their emotions intact (that means you Matt Judon).

 

Why would throwing the ball be bad in good whether when 40 time in the rain more than got the job done? Also, the Bengals gave up only 75 ruyds while allowing 305 passing yards. I'd love to see Joe air it out again targeting 9 different receivers again.

 

Mixon runs all over them.

 

Could be. Could be Ravens stuff him too. He draws comparisons to LeVeon Bell and Todd Gurley. The Ravens frequently shut Bell down and held Gurley to 66 rushing yards and a score in their only contest back in 2015. Mixon has 105 total yards against them in 2 games last year. The last two were against subpar Ravens defenses. Mixon could heave a great day just as much as a bad one. Depends I guess who's more rested and ready on a short week?

Well see.

 

Ignore Press. This post plus his post in the Ozzie thread shows he's simply trolling

 

This game is kind of a must win. Because of that Steelers tie, the Ravens (or Bengals technically) have to win one more game than Pittsburgh to take the division from them. A 12-4 Ravens team ends up being a wildcard team while a 12-3-1 Steelers team wins the division.

 

I don’t know who I want to win this game. The winner will definitely be in line for a push for the playoffs.

 

Ravens just have to stay one game ahead. That tie is going to make the season...interesting.

 

Maybe they'll tie...

 

I don't care who you are, that's some funny shit right there!

 

The Steelers and Browns win this week and they tie. We could all be tied at 1-0-1.
That would be crazy

 

Probably would be an NFL first...at least since the realignment anyway.

 

There have only been 2 ties in a season on 3 occasions, so yes it would definitely be an NFL first. However, since last year's reduction to 10 minute overtime, we are more likely now to see ties, so it could happen. Regardless, the NFL still doesn't see very many over time games, so ties will probably always remain an anomaly.

 

So Joe's average passer rating in Mike Brown Stadium is like 37. Andy Dalton is a choke artist in prime time. Which one of these QBs get over mental block tonight?

 

I'll probably stop by between plays and/or quartets. But let's go, Ravens!!