Photo Courtesy: All-Pro Reels
By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Game Info
Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday – January 15 – 7:15 p.m.
TV: NBC
Paycor Stadium – Cincinnati, OH
Records Before the Game
Baltimore Ravens (10-7, 5-4 Away)
Cincinnati Bengals (12-4, 6-1 Home)
The end all be all answer to everyone’s question will be about quarterback play between these two teams! The Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow will look to get back to the Super Bowl at the expense of the Ravens. Baltimore will need Lamar Jackson under center to have a snowballs chance of winning on the road and moving on to the next round of the playoffs. Let’s take a closer look at this game at Paycor Stadium.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback Lamar Jackson (knee) has been ruled out for this game. He has been working out with the team as reported by ESPN and USA Today. The only way the Ravens have a chance of winning is having him on the field. Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley is still listed as questionable as well, but looks like he’ll get the start. All this means is that RB J.K. Dobbins and TE Mark Andrews who sat last week will have to carry the load on offense. The Ravens defense has given up an average of 22 points per game and that way too much to give up especially to the Bengals offense.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback Joe Burrow is red hot right now. He has the Bengals on a 5-game winning streak with no stopping insight. He wants to make it back to the Super Bowl. The Bengals offense is averaging 26 points per game over their last 5 games. Keep an eye on running back Joe Mixon who has 814 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. He will be splitting time with veteran Semaje Perine. The defense will have their hands full upfront with the Ravens run blocking offensive line. This will be a good ol’ smash mouth football game.
Prediction
ESPN has the Bengals with a 72.4% chance of winning at home. The Ravens will need to create turnovers just to have a chance of getting to the next round. I’m taking the Bengals by 10. The Ravens defense will get tired of chasing around the Bengals all game long!
Final Score
Bengals – 31
Ravens – 21
