Baltimore Ravens: Victory Against Bengals Key To Winning Division
By Ben Palmer
Since 2012, the Baltimore Ravens have played fairly well against the rest of their division, but the Cincinnati Bengals have proved a constant thorn in their side.
The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the greatest rivalries in the NFL, maybe in all of sports. It’s what I think most people think of when they think of the AFC North, and even now, the Ravens and Steelers are tied at 5-5 for first place in the division, and it looks like neither is going to run away with it.
But it’s not the Steelers the Ravens have had trouble with over the years. In fact, since 2012, when the Ravens last won the AFC North, Baltimore is 6-2 against the Steelers. They’re also 6-2 against the Cleveland Browns, which honestly isn’t a surprise (sorry Cleveland but I’m also not sorry), so why haven’t they run away with the AFC North every year for the past few seasons?
The answer to that question is the Cincinnati Bengals. In that same time span, the Baltimore Ravens are 1-5 against the Bengals, and have lost the last five straight contests against the team.
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This Sunday, the Ravens will be hosting the Bengals and there’s never been a better time for Baltimore to overcome the pain in their side that the Bengals have been.
On the year, the Bengals are 3-6-1, they haven’t been particularly good, and now they’re getting worse. They’ve likely lost wide receiver A.J. Green for the season, as well as running back Giovani Bernard.
Up until this point in the season, the Bengals offense was pretty middle-of-the-road, ranking 12th overall in both passing and rushing offense, but now they’ve lost their best wide receiver and one of their better running backs (though they still have Jeremy Hill).
Fortunately for the Ravens, the Bengals defense has been miserable this season, ranking 24th in opponent yards per game, 25th in opponent rushing yards per carry, and 19th in opponent passing yards per attempt.
The Ravens biggest weakness has been their offense this year, and going against this Bengals defense has the potential to make an offense even as sickly-looking as Baltimore’s look good.
The Ravens desperately need to win this and their next game against the Bengals if they want a shot at the division, because their upcoming schedule is not particularly favorable.
They’ve got a home game against the Miami Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as a road game against the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Those games are all going to be difficult, which means taking advantage of a bad Cincinatti Bengals both times they play them is going to be key to the Ravens winning their division.