Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
An AFC North rivalry game is taking place tomorrow. The Bengals visit Baltimore, as they try to pry second place away from the Ravens. Both the Bengals and the Ravens lost last week. They are tied at 6-3, and in second place in the AFC North.
Bengals Offense: Andy Dalton. Who would have thought that the former TCU quarterback, is one of the best rookies this season? Dalton has led the Carson Palmerless Bengals to a 6-3 record thus far. He has thrown for 1,866 yards, more than any other rookie except Cam Newton. Another rookie, A.J Green is having a great year. Green, a wide receiver, has 35 catches for 435 yards. He leads all rookies in those categories. The rushing game has been a bit struggle for the Bengals. Primary back Cedric Benson has been injured for a little bit, and Bernard Scott has had to carry the ball. Benson is back now, but don’t look for him to be too much of a factor against the best defense in the league.
Ravens Offense: The Ravens offense is always overshadowed by the team’s spectacular defense. Mostly it’s for good reason, but this year the team is looking to change that. Joe Flacco is having yet another solid year. He is 12th in passing yards this season so far. Ray Rice is having a perfect fantasy season. Unfortunately, all those fantasy points are not exactly translating to real world success. The Ravens rank 24th in rushing. Joe Flacco has great targets for himself in Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin. Smith and Boldin have combined for 6 touchdowns and 70 catches.
Edge: Bengals
Bengals Defense: The Bengals defense is surprisingly one of the best in football. They rank 5th in total defensive yards. They rank 10th in passing defense, but may have trouble defending Flacco. In defending the run, they rank second. Ray Rice will have some trouble against the Bengals. Flacco will have to work his arm a lot against this team.
Ravens Defense: Known as the Best Defense in the game. The Bengals Rushing game, which isn’t very good in particular should not bother running against the 3rd best rushing defense. Andy Dalton will have some trouble passing against a team which has the 3rd most sacks. In total, the Ravens, with Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, and more are going to be hard to do score against.
Edge: Ravens
The Pick: Two all-pro defenses go against each other. Expect a low scoring game. Also, expect a lot of passing. Ray Rice will beg for carries, but the Bengals will keep stopping him forcing Flacco to pass. Andy Dalton is young, and will most likely make some rookie mistakes. The Ravens have beaten the first place Steelers twice, while the Bengals lost in their only contest against them. When you beat the first place team twice, it’s kind of hard to lose to anybody else in your division.
Ravens 17- Bengals 10
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