It’s almost time for the Ravens’ Week 7 matchup with the Bengals! Here are Baltimore Beatdown’s last-minute predictions:
Nikhil Mehta
Like the Falcons, the Bengals seem like an especially bad matchup for the Ravens. Baltimore’s offensive line finally has their best five, but it is still Cam Jurgens’ first game snapping to Tyler Huntley in a new offense. And he has to deal with Dexter Lawrence. On defense, well, we’ve seen this movie before Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase for first down or a touchdown at all of the worst
moments. But I picked against the Ravens in Atlanta, and Derrick Henr
X-factor: Ja’Kobi Lane. Huntley needs a big, quarterback-friendly target that he can trust with contested catches, whether he’s trying to push the ball downfield or hit a hot read against the blitz. Lane has proven he can operate in traffic over the middle with a good feel for picking up the requisite yards for a first down. This feels like a good week for his first regular-season touchdown.
Score prediction: Ravens 24, Bengals 21
Frank Platko
With no Lamar Jackson, the Ravens’ offense will again be limited. Therefore, the onus will be on their defense to carry the load, as they did last week, but forcing turnovers may be necessary. If the Ravens’ defense can come up with a takeaway or two and give their offense a short-field to work with, that could make a huge difference. Their pass rush against Joe Burrow needs to be relentless and effective to disrupt the Bengals’ lethal passing attack.
X-factor: Cam Jurgens. Expecting great results from Jurgens in his first game as a Raven, coming off a concussion, may be unfair. However, the Ravens will need him to hold his own in a tough matchup against DT Dexter Lawrence. If Jurgens is overwhelmed in one-on-one matchups with Lawrence, the latter might wreck any chance of offensive success for the Ravens.
Score prediction: Ravens 17, Bengals 24
Kevin McNelis
Last week wasn’t pretty, and while they get multiple pieces a little healthier, they’re now down Tavius Robinson and still without Lamar Jackson. It doesn’t bode well as they face a well-rounded Bengals team that’s given the secondary fits even when the Ravens have managed to win against them over the past few seasons.
Derrick Henry’s success was limited last week, and maybe the offense can mix it up a little bit more than they did last week, but they’re going to need the defense to make some plays and set up short fields if they want to have any hope of winning this game. The next guys up in Zion Young, Mike Green, and Keondre Jackson filling in for Jaylinn Hawkins can prove that they deserve bigger spots by stepping up and making big plays in the expanded roles.
X-factor: I’d even venture to give Keondre Jackson my X-factor player for this game based on how important the back end of the defense is going to be as they face the Bengals receivers. My heart has hope, but my head feels like it knows where this game goes.
Score prediction: Bengals 27, Ravens 16
Dustin Cox
Any game without Lamar Jackson will be tough to win for the Ravens, but a divisional matchup with a Bengals team fresh off a bye week is an especially difficult hurdle to overcome with a backup quarterback. If Baltimore wants to pull off the upset with Tyler Huntley on Sunday, then getting the run game going with Derrick Henry is absolutely paramount to sustaining offensive success. Henry was bottled up against the Browns a week ago and Huntley was unable to carry the load with his arm. If the Ravens can get a classic Henry performance, then they should have a real chance against the Bengals. Baltimore’s defense has played better in recent weeks, but Sunday will present their toughest challenge yet with Joe Burrow throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The Ravens’ secondary has done a good job of eliminating explosive plays down the field, but Chase and Higgins will put that to the test. I predict a respectable fight from the Ravens, but without Jackson, I do not foresee Baltimore’s offense having enough juice to keep up with Cincinnati’s passing attack over the course of four quarters.
X-factor: Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson is surely chomping at the bit to get back at his former team on Sunday. While the secondary will need to be at their best, an effective pass rush would go a long way in preventing Burrow from having a field day through the air.
Score prediction: Bengals 27 Ravens 20
