Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens NFL Betting Preview and Predictions

The Cincinnati Bengals come to MT&T Bank Stadium for a Thursday Night Football showdown with the Baltimore Ravens. This week 11 battle is an important one for both teams. Both teams lost last week, with Baltimore nipped at the wire by the Browns, 33-31, on Sunday, while the Bengals suffered a similar fate to the Texans in a 34-31 loss. Both teams lost on field goals as time ran out. Who can turn around on the short week and get it done in Baltimore for this Thursday Night Football battle?

Taking a Look Back and a Look Ahead

At this point, a week two faceoff between these two teams might not hold much water. Despite last week’s issues against Houston, Cincinnati had turned things around to the point where they bear little resemblance to the sometimes-shambolic squad we were seeing in their first handful of games. A 27-24 win for the Ravens was hardly revealing, and those putting stock in that result might miss the boat for this game.

Both teams will be in atonement-mode after last week, but it is the Bengals who are still in the midst of trying to revamp their season after a rough start. Last week was a setback after four straight wins allowed Cincy to breathe some life back into their season. Now, at 5-4, they’re still in a bit of fix. Another loss to the first-place team in the division on the road who already beat them, and they’re back at .500, left to then scramble the rest of the season for a wild-card spot. That’s not what they had in mind, so expect a nice push this week.

Is Everything OK with the Ravens?

They were well on their way to victory last week, taking a 14-point lead into the last ten minutes of the fourth quarter on Sunday. A Browns TD and a pick-six off Jackson put them back in it, but a missed XP still had the Ravens up by one, allowing a FG late to cinch it in what was an uncharacteristically bad game from Lamar and a very un-clutch showing from a Baltimore “D” that had been playing really well.

It’s a key point of the season for the Ravens, immersed in a three-game homestand. After easily beating Seattle in the first game of that run, they totally blew it last week in what looked to be a sure win. To drop two in a row at home with that heavy concentration of tough road games coming up, I’d look for Baltimore to put a lot into this week. To see their season go sideways, starting with them letting their foot off the gas against Cleveland last week, would be a bitter pill to swallow for a team that overcame so much to be in this position.

The Ravens still have to clean it up. Going against Joe Burrow and his weapons, Lamar has to be better. The turnover thing with the picks and the fumbles has to stop. The foibles on third-down conversions have to improve. It’s not like there is so much inherent firepower on this offense that they can just blow their opponents’ doors off with a fantastic run game with big-time receivers running all over the field. They have those things, to a certain extent, but when you add the components of errors, apathy playing with a lead, and an inability to step up in the clutch, it makes the Baltimore winning formula seem a lot less iron-clad.

The Case for Cincinnati

I imagine it doesn’t hurt their confidence when the Bengals reflect on how close they came to beating the Ravens before when things weren’t clicking. With better form, they should feel good about their chances, even on the road. Having an iffy Ja’Marr Chase last week not at full strength, along with Tee Higgins being out, may have cost the Bengals a little juice. I’d expect better this week with Chase healthier and Higgins maybe getting back out there, though he’s questionable.

On Sunday, we saw the Cincy defense not playing clutch in allowing that late FG drive with time running out on the clock. But against Houston, they were taking on a team that has caught some offensive fire with their rookie QB. It was another in a long line of tough tests for the Bengals’ defense, coming off games against Seattle, San Francisco, and Buffalo. In those three games, the Bengals allowed only 48 combined points. All that good work is not undone by one loss to Houston. If we see Cincinnati get back to that level of defensive rigidity, they might not have the worst matchup in this spot against Jackson. And while it would be premature to say the Ravens’ defense is now a soft spot, we still saw a version last week that a moderately in-tune Bengals offense could certainly exploit.

Take the Points

It’s a tough game in a division where nothing is going to come easy moving forward. It’s a division where all teams are above .500 with a shot to win it. But it has also been a mish-mosh, with no team standing above the fray. I’d imagine some urgency on both sidelines, with Cincy’s maybe a bit enhanced with a smaller margin for error. I sense that Burrow and the electricity on this offense can resonate on Thursday, with their greater big-play ability delivering, along with a more-pointed effort from the defense. I’m taking the Bengals in this one.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I’m betting on the Cincinnati Bengals plus 3.5 points.

Be sure to check out the rest of our Week 11 NFL picks!