For the first time in the John Harbaugh era, the Baltimore Ravens have gone consecutive years without reaching the playoffs. The Ravens had another mediocre season as they went 8-8 last year.
The defense did its part as it finished No. 6 overall per DVOA. It was the awful offense, particularly the passing game, that was primarily at fault for their struggles. “Elite” quarterback Joe Flacco could only lead the Ravens to a 26th-ranked passing offense. However, he wasn’t helped by the lack of true game-changers at the skill positions.
Jeremy Maclin and Danny Woodhead were brought in during the offseason to replace Steve Smith Sr. (retired) and Kenneth Dixon, who was lost for the season with a knee injury. But it remains to be seen if they can move the needle enough for the offense to get back up to league average.
The Baltimore defense will most likely be the best unit on the field, but it’ll need to be pretty amazing for the Ravens to finally end their recent hoodoo against Cincinnati. The Ravens are just 2-7 in their last nine games against the Bengals.
The Bengals are coming off their first losing season this decade as they went a disappointing 6-9-1. Cincy was nothing special on either side of the ball. With top receiving AJ Green missing the last six games of the season and tight end Tyler Eifert missing half the year, they finished 11th in offensive DVOA. Meanwhile, their defense ranked a middling 17th.
They went out and tried to address their lack of playmakers apart from Green and Eifert during the offseason as they drafted running back Joe Mixon and speedy wideout John Ross. However, they didn’t do enough to address their weakness along the offensive line, which figures to be well below average this season.
The defense remains more or less the same apart from the additions of linebacker Kevin Minter and corner William Jackson, who missed his entire rookie year with a pec injury. But while that unit is not spectacular, it doesn’t figure to get burned by a Baltimore offense that continues to lack big play potential. The Bengals D has held the Ravens to under 20 points in seven of their last nine meetings at Cincinnati.
That consistently strong defense is a major reason why the Bengals have simply owned the Ravens on home turf in recent years. Cincy is 7-2 in its last nine home games against their division rivals, including five wins in a row with a 4-1 against the spread record.
Writer’s Prediction
The Bengals (-3) continue their domination of the Ravens as they get the 21-17 home win.
