The NFL Playoffs are showcasing two matchups in Super Wildcard Weekend with divisional foes facing off for the third time this season. The Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens are one of those. These two teams split the regular season games, and both are going in opposite directions as the regular season concluded.
The Bengals are riding an eight-game winning streak heading into the NFL Playoffs, whereas the Ravens are 4 – 4 in that same span and losing three of their last four. The Ravens are missing Lamar Jackson in a big way, and he’ll be out this week as well.
For all the struggles the Ravens are having, this is still a division rival matchup, a playoff game and at the end of the day, anything can happen in the NFL playoffs.
Tyler Huntley is questionable, and we’ll have to wait and see if he can go. If he does, I believe this game will be closer than maybe some believe. Huntley was asked about his health, and he continues to get better and believes he’s over 90% healthy, which would be huge for the Ravens if he can go. He’s currently a game-time decision but for the sake of my score prediction, I’m going to say he plays.
Baltimore comes into this game tenth in overall defense and the Bengals’ offense is ranked eighth. The problem is, the Ravens’ strength is in their run defense, where they are third in the league, and their pass defense is an abysmal 26th and giving up an average of over 232 yards per game. The Bengals average more than 265 yards through the air, which means the Ravens will need to get after Joe Burrow and try to disrupt his rhythm and make him uncomfortable.
The mid-season trade that brought Roquan Smith to the Ravens was a big one and has helped immensely in improving Baltimore’s defense. The recently selected All-Pro will need to have a big game to help disrupt that Bengals offense. Since Smith’s arrival, the Ravens’ defense is allowing an average of 14.3 points per game. Before the trade, they gave up nearly 23 a game.
The Ravens rushing attack ranks second in the league; however, the Bengals’ run defense is pretty good, and the strength of their defense. If the Ravens can make some plays in the passing game, they have a real shot in this one, plus the Bengals have a few injuries, specifically on the offensive line. With La’el Collins out for the season and Alex Cappa out this week, the Bengals have to try to piece together a capable line. They also placed Chidobe Awuzie on IR this past week.
The spread for this game is currently set at 8.5 and I think this will be much closer than that. If I were a betting man, and I am, I’d take the under on that all day! While the Ravens are a much better team with Huntley than with third-stringer, Anthony Brown, and J.K. Dobbins did not play in that Week 18 game; I still believe the Bengals’ passing attack will be too much for the Ravens to ultimately overcome.
The Bengals win this one, 27 – 23.