BALTIMORE (1-0) at CINCINNATI (0-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Bengals by 3 1/2.
SERIES RECORD: Ravens lead 28-27.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Baltimore 1-0; Cincinnati 0-1.
LAST MEETING: Bengals beat Ravens 24-17 in an AFC wild-card game Jan. 15.
LAST WEEK: Ravens beat Texans 25-9; Bengals lost to Browns 24-3.
RAVENS OFFENSE: OVERALL (T20), RUSH (10), PASS (22), SCORING (T8).
RAVENS DEFENSE: OVERALL (14), RUSH (7), PASS (17), SCORING (4).
BENGALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (24), PASS (21), SCORING (31).
BENGALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (31), PASS (9), SCORING (T22).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Ravens minus-1; Bengals plus-2.
RAVENS PLAYER TO WATCH: Rookie WR Zay Flowers was targeted 10 times in his debut and made nine catches. He looked like the biggest threat on an otherwise pedestrian day for the Baltimore offense, so it will be interesting to see how the Bengals prepare for him. Only Puka Nacua (10) of the Los Angeles Rams had more catches among NFL rookies.
BENGALS PLAYER TO WATCH: The question will be how QB Joe Burrow bounces back after the worst game of his pro career. He had missed most of training camp with a strained calf muscle and never looked comfortable playing in the rain in Cleveland in the 24-3 loss. Burrow completed fewer than half his passes for 82 yards. The day before he signed a contract extension making him the highest-paid player in the league.
KEY MATCHUP: Ravens RBs against Bengals defensive front. The Cincinnati defense was one of the few flickers of positivity against the Browns. Baltimore RB J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury Sunday. The Ravens will turn to Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, who scored two touchdowns in the 25-9 win over Houston.
KEY INJURIES: CB Marlon Humphrey (foot) missed more practice time this week for the Ravens after sitting out the season opener. S Marcus Williams (pectoral) was hurt in Week 1, and so were C Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) and T Ronnie Stanley (knee). … Bengals DE Cam Sample (ankle), RB Chris Evans (hamstring), DE Joseph Ossai (ankle), Logan Wilson (ankle) limited in practice.
SERIES NOTES: The Bengals beat Baltimore on consecutive weeks in Cincinnati in January, first in the regular-season finale 27-16 and then in the wild-card round of the playoffs 24-17. … Earlier in the season, on Oct. 9, 2022, the Ravens won in Baltimore 19-17. … The longest win streak in the series was six by the Ravens in 1998-2000. … Each team has streak of five straight wins in the series since then. … The Ravens swept the Bengals in two consecutive seasons (2019 and ’20) before the Bengals swept the Ravens in 2021. … Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson is 6-1 in seven starts against Cincinnati. Since he entered the league, the Ravens are 0-4 — including postseason — with any other starting QB.
STATS AND STUFF: In Week 1, Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen each had at least 10 tackles and a sack — the first time in Ravens history a duo had accomplished that. … With one more rushing TD, Jackson will become the fifth player in NFL history to post 100 TDs passing and 25 rushing in his first six seasons. Josh Allen, Daunte Culpepper, Cam Newton and Dak Prescott are the others. … Baltimore’s Justin Tucker has 57 FGs of at least 50 yards, one behind Sebastian Janikowski for second place on the NFL’s career list. Only Matt Prater (72) has more. … This is the first of three divisional road games on Baltimore’s schedule in the first five weeks. … Cincinnati’s trio of top receivers, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, combined for just 49 receiving yards. Higgins was targeted eight times and had zero catches. … Last season the three had combined for 2,837 yards and 21 touchdowns. … Joe Mixon had 13 carries for 56 yards and caught three passes for 17 against the Browns. … The Bengals converted just two third downs in 15 tries last week and failed on the only attempt to convert on fourth down. … Cincinnati punted 10 times, including on its first seven possessions in the first half. … Linebacker Germaine Pratt and safety Nick Scott — in his first game with the Bengals — each had 11 tackles. … The Bengals are the only team with the same head coach and coordinators in place for each season since 2021. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons have been with coach Zac Taylor since he was hired in 2019. … Burrow had one of his best days as a pro against Baltimore on Dec. 26, 2021, when he passed for a Bengals-record 525 yards and four TDs in the 41-21 Cincinnati win.
FANTASY TIP: If Burrow can get back on track, that will likely translate to a good day for Chase. The 2021 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year had just had five catches for just 39 yards last week. He’s not likely to be kept down long.
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