Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals preview: Both sides will look to bust holes through the opponent's defence
The Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals will square off in the AFC North’s first divisional match-up on Sunday. The Bengals won both meetings last year with the Ravens but the Ravens are poised
to change that after making some big offseason acquisitions. While the Bengals signed the controversial Terrell Owens, the Ravens acquired Anquan Boldin and T.J Houshmandzadeh. This should be a defensive slugfest.
These two teams went in opposite directions last week as the Ravens pulled out a dominant victory over the New York Jets in which the 10-9 result was deceiving. The New England Patriots smashed the Bengals
38-24 and even that score line doesn’t reflect how badly the Patriots dominated that game.
The Bengals will look to establish a strong running game unlike last week. While Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens are a threat, the Bengals are a run-first team and will need that production from Cedric
Benson. As Benson couldn’t get it going last week, it took a while for the Bengals to find an offensive rhythm.
Running the ball will prove to be tough against the Ravens, who shut down the Jets’ ground attack last Monday. The Jets were ranked first in rushing last year but could not figure out the Ravens’ feared
front seven that includes linebacker Ray Lewis, who was all over the field. Lewis will hunt for Benson all game long and Benson will have to use his physical strength to power through a stingy Ravens defence.
The Ravens offence generated many first downs and was unbelievable on third-down conversions last week. They were able to move the ball and control the clock against a Jets defence that was undisciplined
and grew fatigued as the game wore on. The fact remains though that the Ravens offence turned the ball over twice and only scored 10 points. Asking the defence to hold the Bengals to less than 10 points may be too much to ask, so the bottom line is the Ravens
have to score more points. The Jets’ offence was so dreadful it could not crack 10 points, but the Bengals are fully capable of doing that. Carson Palmer is a much more experienced quarterback the New York QB Mark Sanchez, and a great passer, so don't expect
Baltimore to have so easy a time.
Joe Flacco will look to use his receiving corps and get running back Ray Rice more involved. The Jets shut down Rice but he should have a better game against a Bengals’ defence that was pushed around by
the Patriots last Sunday. The Ravens have to show that their offence will no longer be their weak link and that it will be strength of theirs. There’s no better time to show that than a divisional game.
Both teams managed to stay healthy in their week one match-ups so there are no major injuries to report. That means there will be no excuses for the losing team. The rivals have been going at it all week,
trash talking through Twitter, eager to take the field Sunday.
Look for the Ravens to see an improvement in their offence and to punch it into the end zone more than they did against the Jets. In turn, look for the Bengals to test a young Ravens’ secondary where Ed
Reed is still on the physically unable to perform list. Ochocinco and Owens will look to have big days in what will be a very close game, likely down to the last drive.
Tags: