The Baltimore Ravens let a 10-0 lead slip away in Cleveland in Week 6. Their Tyler Huntley-led offense disappeared after a strong start, placing a hefty burden on a defense that just could not hold in the fourth quarter.
In Week 7, the Ravens host the Cincinnati Bengals. Huntley will start once again with Lamar Jackson’s high ankle sprain sidelining him for a third straight contest. News of his absence shifted Baltimore to 2.5-point home underdogs (via FanDuel Sportsbook). Here’s how Jesse Minter’s
squad can beat the odds and secure their fifth win of the season:
Baltimore’s offense runs through The King
The Bengals’ new-look run defense has some obscene splits in the run game. They have stuffed opposing rushers and allowed explosive runs at the highest rate in the league, per Next Gen Stats. They are also allowing 1.47 yards over expectation/attempt and 2.62 yards before contact/attempt, both league-highs by a considerable margin.
The contrasts continue depending on the gap. Between the tackles, opposing rushers are averaging just 3.3 yards per carry as opposed to 6.0 to the outside. The middle is closed for business, almost entirely thanks to Dexter Lawrence. The offseason trade acquisition has been as advertised to start his Bengals tenure, dominating the trenches next to fellow veteran addition Jonathan Allen.
If nose tackles eat space in the trenches, Lawrence is Joey Chestnut. There is no running around him, and there is certainly no running through him. Instead, Declan Doyle needs to embrace one of the NFL’s time-honored offensive strategies: run away from the defense’s best player.
Derrick Henry still gets the edge better than any 6-foot-3, 252-pounder has any business, and attacking the outside will take pressure off Cam Jurgens in his first start as a Raven. Few players are as familiar with Lawrence’s abilities as the former Eagles center. He knows there is no beating Lawrence. There is no stopping his 6-foot-5, 350-pound frame. But he can be slowed by an agile center who can wall him off on outside zone runs and force him to chase plays laterally. Jurgens has to beat Lawrence to the spot and dig in long enough for Henry to get by. From there, The King can attack a Bengals secondary that has struggled to tackle this season.
Ravens need a Trey Hendrickson revenge game
On the defensive side of the ball, the Ravens need another one of the NFL’s time-honored traditions: a revenge game.
Trey Hendrickson downplayed his first matchup against his former team this week, but one line from his Thursday presser stood out: “As a Christian, I forgive.”
But did he forget? Hendrickson has openly expressed his frustration with the Bengals during their multiple contract standoffs. He finally has a chance to stick it to the team that backed up the Brinks truck for their top offensive players but could not reward the NFL’s sack leader across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Hendrickson’s matchup with Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. will be most crucial on third downs – Baltimore’s mortal enemy on defense this year. The former Raven’s overall pass-blocking metrics hold up, but he collapses in true pass sets – Pro Football Focus’ metric measuring standard dropback passing plays. Brown has allowed 11 of his 12 pressures and all three of his sacks in true pass sets, which will typically come in those third-and-long situations the Ravens need to solve.
But the Bengals have coaches, too, coaches who will use tight end Drew Sample and running backs Chase Browns and Samaje Perine to chip Hendrickson. The Ravens have two potential counters. The first is using the focus on Hendrickson to set picks and free up other rushers, potentially Nnamdi Madubuike or a second-level blitzer looping to the outside.
Jesse Minter will also have at least one opportunity for a more extreme call – overload pressure on the right side with Hendrickson dropping into coverage. This has to be deployed in the right moment against the right offensive formation, but Burrow has proven he can be baited into interceptions before. Hendrickson just needs to get some tips from Marlon Humphrey on catching with a wrapped hand.
Now, it’s your turn! Put on your coaching cap and tell us how you would scheme up a Ravens win against the Bengals?
