The Bengals’ season is on the line Thursday on the road against the Ravens in a pivotal AFC North matchup. Baltimore rallied twice from down 10 in the second half to win the two teams’ earlier meeting.
The Bengals have not been good this year.
They have wins over the Panthers, Giants, Browns and Raiders. Their combined record is 8-28. Every team they’ve played with a winning record, they’ve lost to.
It appears as if Tee Higgins will be out again this week, and their best interior defensive lineman, B.J. Hill, hasn’t practiced due to a rib injury. The latter is suboptimal when facing the league’s rushing leader in Derrick Henry. In his first year with the Ravens, Henry leads the NFL in carries of 20 yards or more (12), touchdowns (11), yards per game (116.9) and in first downs (46).
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It’s easy to envision a scenario in which the Ravens grind out an easy win on the strength of Henry’s legs against a bad run defense that gave up 175 on the ground in the last meeting.
Despite the two teams meeting 10 times since Joe Burrow entered the league, he has only gone head-to-head with Lamar Jackson three times, as both have missed games due to injury. Burrow is 1-2 against Lamar.
If all signs point to the Ravens, you have to wonder what you’re missing.
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This is all I’ve got: It’s a divisional rematch. And in the few we’ve had this season, clearly the underdog and the game total Under are worth a closer look.
Just last week, we saw the Panthers topple the Saints after losing to them 47-10 in the opener. We also saw the Dolphins nearly take down the Bills after getting blown out in the first meeting. The Jets blasted the Patriots in the first meeting and lost the second one.
The Ravens are clearly the superior team, but I’ll take a 6 and hope it jumps up to 7 on game day (the public loves the offensive machine that is Baltimore) and grab some more on the Bengals.
PICK: Cincinnati (+6) to lose by fewer than 6 points, or win outright
Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports betting analyst who also writes about the NFL and NBA Draft. Before arriving at FOX, he created the website The Big Lead. Follow him on Twitter @JasonRMcIntyre.
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