Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals Prediction, Pick Against the Spread, and Latest Odds
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals Prediction, Pick Against the Spread, and Latest Odds
The Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals will duel things out from Cincinnati for an AFC North showdown on Sunday afternoon.
Ravens vs. Bengals Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: September 17, 2023
- Time: 1:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: CBS
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals Prediction
Baltimore enters play with a record of 1-0 after beating up the Houston Texans in Week 1.
The Ravens began the game a bit sluggish, but they turned things on in the second half, taking down Houston by a final score of 25-9.
It was a bittersweet Week 1 for the Ravens. The good news is that they are 1-0. The bad news is that multiple key players were injured in the win.
Running back JK Dobbins tore his Achilles, which will keep him out for the remainder of the season. Starting Safety Marcus Williams was injured and is expected to “be out for a while,” according to head coach Jim Harbaugh. Left Tackle Ronnie Staley suffered a knee sprain, and center Tyler Linderbaum also suffered a sprain in the win. Both Staley and Linderbaum are questionable to suit up this week.
Lamar Jackson played okay, but he will have to be much better moving forward if the Ravens want to compete in the AFC. Jackson went 17-22, throwing for 169 yards and one interception. Jackson led the team in rushing yards with 38.
Rookie Zay Flowers stole the show in the passing game. Flowers caught nine balls for 78 yards. The team is high on Flowers and feels as if he can be the number one option of Jackson for a long time. Odell Beckham Jr. had two catches for 37 yards.
The defense was outstanding for Baltimore, as they did not allow one touchdown. The Ravens were led by linebacker Roquan Smith, who ended the game with 16 tackles.
The Bengals could not have played much worse in Week 1. Cincinnati was beaten 24-3 on the road against the Cleveland Browns.
Joe Burrow inked a contract on Thursday night to make him the highest-paid football player in the history of the NFL (five years, $275 million).
Burrow followed that contact up with arguably the worst game of his NFL career. Burrow went 14-31 for 82 yards and a QBR of 55.2.
Joe Mixon led the team on the ground with 56 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Ja'Marr Chase had five catches for 39 yards.
The Bengal defense played well early but struggled to get stops in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, it did not matter, as the Bengals' offense was the reason that they lost.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals Pick
This is the perfect bounce-back spot for the Bengals, and let me tell you why.
The first reason is that Joe Burrow will not play that badly again. Burrow is simply too talented to turn in a similar performance, and after the entire world overreacts for the next six days, Burrow will remind everyone why he got the largest contract in NFL history on Sunday.
The second reason is that Baltimore enters this game dealing with multiple critical injuries. The Ravens are without their best running back and possibly their two best starting offensive lineman. Additionally, they are without their starting safety, who is one of their best defensive players.
The Ravens did not impress me in Week 1. They got lucky that they played one of the worst teams in football, the Texans.
The Bengals will bounce back and cover this week.
Pick: Cincinnati Bengals -3 -112 is currently the best odds. Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds for this pick
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Matt McCuen is a native of Delco, PA. He has been working in the sports gambling industry and creating content for the last few years. He is an expert in numerous different sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and collegiate sports. You can follow Matt on Twitter at @DeadPresPicks.