Ravens (6-7) at Bengals (4-9) Sunday, Dec. 14 at Paycor Stadium (FieldTurf CORE), 1 p.m. ET, TV: CBS Locally WKRC-TV Ch. 12 (Cincinnati) Spero Dedes (PBP), Adam Archuleta (analyst), Aditi Kinkhabwala (sideline). Radio: Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham. 700 WLW AM, WEBN-FM (102.7 FM), ESPN1530.
CINCINNATI — It’s officially do-or-die time for the Bengals.
If they lose to the Ravens Sunday at Paycor, the Bengals will clinch their third straight season of watching the NFL playoffs from the couch, as they will be officially eliminated from the AFC North chase at 4-10. They’ve already clinched their first losing season since 2020, when the team went 4-11-1.
The weather will be a factor. The kickoff temperature will by around 12 degrees with a real feel in the single digits. Sunshine is in the forecast but it will be brutally cold. There is no precipitation in the forecast.
But besides just staying alive with a win, the Bengals are aiming for their fist series sweep of Baltimore since 2021. On Thanksgiving night, Joe Burrow made a triumphant return from his turf toe injury and threw touchdown passes to Tanner Hudson and Andrei Iosivas and Evan McPherson kicked six field goals in a 32-14 Cincinnati win. That win brought Burrow’s winning streak as a starter to eight games.
The Bengals will not have Tee Higgins again when they take the field against the Ravens. Higgins was not available on Thanksgiving after sustaining a concussion when he slammed his head against the turf in a downfield collision with New England’s Carlton Davis late in the fourth quarter.
He returned on Sunday against the Bills and caught two touchdowns, one of which was one-handed in the back of the end zone while his left arm was being pinned by a defender. In the game against the Ravens on Thanksgiving night, the Bengals compensated by targeting Ja’Marr Chase 14 times for seven catches and 110 yards. Chase Brown caught seven passes on seven targets for 35 yards.
The Bengals will get some help back on special teams and in terms of linebacker depth as Shaka Heyward was activated off injured reserve Friday and will be active for Sunday’s game. Don’t expect rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart (doubtful) to return quite yet from his left knee injury. He practiced all week but it’s likely he won’t see the field against Baltimore.
“I don’t know what the odds are. I know they’re not zero,” said Taylor. “I told our guys, ‘The odds aren’t zero, so we’re going to keep fighting, keep scratching, keep clawing.’ We’ll keep approaching every week the way we’ve been doing it, and we’ve just got to win.”
“We’ve got four games to go and show high-level execution, high-level play and playmaking,” said Burrow, citing his outlook on the rest of the season. “I’m going to relish the opportunity to go out and play with these guys and continue to try to put on a show for everybody watching. I hope that comes across, and I know I’m going to continue to work hard to put myself in a good position to make plays.”
Burrow has two career milestones in reach on Sunday against the Ravens. He is 265 passing yards shy of 20,000, with a chance to reach that mark in what would be tied for the third-fewest games in NFL history (74). He also is two TD passes away from 150 in his career.
Cincinnati looks to sweep a Baltimore team that has dropped two in a row, as the Ravens followed their Thanksgiving defeat against the Bengals with a 27-22 home loss to Pittsburgh in Week 14.
The series: The Ravens currently hold a five-game advantage in regular season, 32-27, while the Bengals hold a 1-0 lead in postseason. Baltimore has won four of its last five games against Cincinnati, though the Bengals won the most recent meeting two weeks ago on Thanksgiving at Baltimore, 32-14. Throughout the series, it has not been easy for the visiting team. The Bengals lead 18-12 in Cincinnati (including postseason), and the Ravens lead 20-10 in Baltimore.
Here’s what to look for:
- When the Bengals have the ball:
The game against the Bills was Burrow’s second appearance since returning from a toe injury he sustained in September. His numbers at Buffalo
included season highs in completions (25), passing yards (284), TD passes (four) and passer rating (106.7). He completed at least one pass to eight different receivers, and led Cincinnati on three straight scoring drives to open the game. The Bengals’ offense has performed among the league’s best since its Pro Bowl QB re-entered the lineup. Over the past two weeks, Cincinnati is tied for third in the NFL in scoring average (33.0 points per game), fifth in passing offense (265.0 yards per game) and ninth in total offense (360.0 yards per game). Without Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase is in focus, of course. Chase was held to just five catches for 44 yards last week with no TDs but surpassed 1000 receiving yards for the season in the game. Third-year back Chase Brown has continued his ascension as one of the most versatile players at his position, as he compiled a Bengals-record six consecutive games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage from Weeks 7-13 before being 23 yards on 12 carries and 12 yards on three receptions last week. With Higgins out, Mike Gesicki’s role will continue to grow. Last week, he had six catches on six targets for 86 yards, just six yards behind Higgins for the team lead. Gesicki has 12 receptions in his three games back from the IR.
- When the Ravens have the ball:
Lamar Jackson completed just 17-of-32 passes for 246 yards in his first meeting with the Bengals on Thanksgiving. Jackson ran the ball six times but only for 27 yards, including a long of 11. Had the Bengals had that run defense discipline last week against Allen, they would’ve won the game going away. Derrick Henry had just 60 yards rushing on 10 carries and 28 of those came on a first quarter touchdown run. Last week, he eclipsed 1,000 yards for the seventh time in his career. His 1,025 yards are sixth in the NFL while his 10 touchdowns are fifth. Throw that run out and it’s 32 yards on nine carries, an exceptional number for the Bengals defense. Tight ends have absolutely killed the Bengals defense this season. Isaiah Likely had 95 yards on five catches while Mark Andrews was the second-leading receiver at 47 yards on four catches. There’s no reason to think the Ravens won’t target the Bengals linebackers and safeties with Likely and Andrews again across the middle like the Bills did last week and try to get Jackson into a rhythm. Likely would’ve had a touchdown against the Bengals had Jordan Battle not come from behind and batted the ball out. Jackson is still 10-2 as a starter all-time against the Bengals.
- Bottom Line:
This game comes down to the Bengals not letting Lamar Jackson do to them what Josh Allen did last week in Orchard Park. The Bengals went zero blitz and got burned twice against Allen, including on the game-clinching 17-yard scramble on third-and-15 from the Bills 25. The Bengals have, for whatever reason, played their best football inside the AFC North, going 3-1 in the previous four games. Here’s thinking that Chase Brown gets back on track with Tee Higgins out and Mike Gesicki catches a touchdown for a second straight week. The defense holds and the Bengals keep a heartbeat alive with a last-second win.
Bengals 30, Ravens 27
