The Cincinnati Bengals led by Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase put the rest of the NFL on notice in Week 7 when Cincinnati traveled to Baltimore and dominated the Ravens on the road.
It was the way the Bengals delivered their 41-17 win that changed the way the rest of the NFL world looked at Cincinnati. Not only did the offense put up 520 total yards, the Bengals’ defense did something the rest of the NFL struggled to do to that point – shut down Lamar Jackson. Cincinnati sacked Jackson five times and hit him seven.
As the Bengals left M&T Bank Stadium, pundits birthed the “these aren’t the same Bengals anymore” narrative. Fast-forward to Week 16 and the Bengals will host the Ravens for the top spot in the AFC North. It has all the makings to be a classic.
“We know Baltimore … they know us,” defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said of the upcoming matchup. “While there will be a lot of wrinkles in the game from them and from us from a schematic standpoint, at the end of the day it comes to do all the things we know they are going to do and how they are going to do it and how we defend that.”
This game will start and end with how the Bengals’ defense fares against the Ravens’ offense. Despite how much talent Cincinnati has on offense, the consistent play of Anarumo’s defense and Burrow are the biggest reasons why the team has eight wins and is fighting for a playoff spot.
While the Bengals won’t know if they'll face former NFL MVP Jackson or his backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, the top priority for the group is stopping the Ravens’ rushing offense. And that won’t change no matter who is at quarterback for Baltimore.
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Jackson suffered a foot injury in Week 14 and missed the Ravens’ most recent game against the Packers. In his first NFL start, Huntley threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 73 yards on the ground. Tight end Mark Andrews caught both of Huntley’s touchdown passes in the 31-30 loss to Green Bay.
“This is a very, very dangerous football team with great players,” Anarumo said. “This game will be nothing like the first game. It’s just going to be different. I hope it is, but very rarely do those things repeat themselves. We are going to come out and attack them. And they’ll have the same mindset. We will be ready.
The Ravens have been ravaged by injuries this season. Baltimore currently has 17 players on the injured reserve list, many of whom are key starters. But despite all they’ve lost, Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh has coached his team to eight wins so far and they can never be counted out of the fight.
Cincinnati will have to play better on offense in the first half to win this game. Far too often Burrow and the Bengals’ often have come out sluggish and it’s played a role in the final outcomes. Burrow and Co. are better when they play with a lead because it allows head coach Zac Taylor to open his playbook up completely and when Cincinnati is balanced on offense, they’re hard to beat. The Bengals will go into this game with the edge in the passing game though as the Ravens rank No. 31 in pass defense.
In the first meeting between the Ravens and Bengals, rookie wideout Ja’Marr Chase couldn’t be stopped. Baltimore had no answers for Cincinnati’s standout first-year receiver as he put up a season-high 201 yards on eight catches and one touchdown. Chase hasn’t had a 100-yard receiving game since.
Even though he’s only faced defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s defense once in his career, Chase knows what’s expected from this game.
“We got to look deep down and dig, to be disciplined, to be savage,” Chase said. “We're going to be savage, just to have discipline. Everybody needs to be on the same page to make sure we reach our goal that we want to be at so, it's just the way everybody needs to buy in and have communication and be one whole team.”
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