Cincinnati Bengals vs Baltimore Ravens Preview and Prediction

By Jalen Willingham

The Cincinnati Bengals will have their 2023 home opener vs. their AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens in week 2 of the 2023 NFL Season.

When: Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 1:00 pm

Where: Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio

Network: CBS

Offense

Week 1 vs. the Cleveland Browns was one of Joe Burrows’s worst games of his young career so far. Only throwing for 82 yards after signing the largest contract in NFL history is quite the disappointment. Only getting six first downs and putting up three points with all the talent on offense is pitiful. The Baltimore Ravens won’t be any easier. Burrow and the entire offense have to play better.

The Ravens lost safety Marcus Williams due to a torn pec. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey is also dealing with a foot injury. That will certainly hurt their defense. It won’t matter if Zac Taylor and Burrow aren’t in sync. Joe Burrow missed all of preseason with a calf injury so one could say that week one was his preseason game from a certain point of view. I do think he will look better even though the bar is in hell at the moment.

Burrow needs to find his rhythm with Higgins and Chase especially. Cincinnati needs to give him more time and also score touchdowns for a change. Burrow was hit 10 times last week. The Ravens’ pass rush is not to mess around with either. They will bring pressure from all around. The linebacker duo of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen has been top of the line. They will be all over the field. The Bengals offense should also still look to keep Joe Mixon involved through the run. He was quite literally the only bright spot offensively in week one.

Defense

The Bengals defense looked much better than their counterparts on the other side of the ball. Giving up 200 yards rushing is never a good thing regardless of them being on the field pretty much all game. I think they’ll be better in week two. The Bengals offense can also help with that by extending drives and putting points up as well.

JK Dobbins is unfortunately out for the year with a torn Achilles. Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley is also dealing with a knee injury. Center Tyler Linderbaum is week to week with an ankle sprain. Tight end Mark Andrews is dealing with a quad injury as well.

Lamar Jackson didn’t really have a good game for himself either last week. Both Burrow and Jackson facing off is still a quarterback matchup you can’t miss. Getting stops will be crucial.

The Bengals pass rush needs to put constant pressure on Jackson. If Andrews is out again, rookie Zay Flowers may indeed be Jackson’s go-to target through the air. Odell Beckham will get more targets as well. If they play the pass just as well as they did last week versus the Browns, that would be tremendous for the outlook of the game.

Stopping the run will once again be key here. The Ravens ran the ball 32 times in week one. Cincinnati will have to contain Jackson in the pocket to keep him from running free. Running backs Justice Hill and Gus Hill will also see more action with Dobbins out for the year.