The Cincinnati Bengals might be thinking about revenge in their upcoming crucial AFC North matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals lost a close encounter a few weeks ago, losing 41-38.
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But Jon Gruden doesn’t believe it’s on the cards as he picked the Ravens to win easily. He predicted a 37-27 victory for Baltimore over their opponents during the recent episode of Jon Gruden’s Picks.
“This is going to be an exciting shootout in Baltimore. Even though I’m from Dayton, I kind of grew up as a Bengal fan, I’m going with the red-hot Baltimore Ravens. They have won 6 out of seven. Ravens 37- Bengals 27.”
The Bengals are coming into the game on the back of a convincing win over the struggling Raiders, avenging their loss to the Eagles and keeping their playoff hopes alive. Baltimore on the other hand, blew out the Raiders’ AFC West rivals, the high-flying Broncos, after a poor showing against the Browns.
They move closer to the top of the division, still led by the Steelers. According to Gruden, both teams have shown character and mental toughness after a rough start to the season. Cincinnati started the season 0-3 but won the last 4 of six matches. The Ravens were 0-2 at the start but have since won six out of seven matches.
A win for Baltimore will see them top the division, setting up an exciting encounter with the Steelers next week if both teams win their upcoming matchups. However, a win means more to the Bengals and it might help them get some momentum moving ahead in the season.
The Bengals need a signature win according to Jon Gruden
All of Cincinnati’s four wins have come against teams with a winning percentage of 0.22 and they are yet to beat any opponents that are playoff contenders. Gruden believes a win against the Ravens will not only solve that problem but will also give their confidence a much-needed boost and drive to win out the remaining matches:
” The Bengals need a signature win. Understand this their four victories have come against teams with a combined 0.22 winning %. They haven’t beaten quality opponents yet. They need this game against the Ravens to really rev up their confidence and believability.”
The Bengals are 1-9 against the Ravens and Burrow is 1-5 against Lamar. Baltimore has convincingly beaten teams with winning records but has fallen short against the teams with losing records. The Ravens have the best rushing offense and defense in the league.
Derrick Henry has wreaked havoc on defenses. However, they are at the bottom in passing defense. Bengals’ defense has improved over the past few weeks to 19th in the NFL. Yet, they continue to allow 130 yards on the ground and over 210 yards in the air.
If the Bengals want to win, they have to figure out a way to stop their opponent’s ground game. Stack the box and pressure Lamar to choose the passing game over his usual running style.
