Bengals (0-5) at Ravens (3-2)
Ravens schedule
W ........ at Miami ........ 59-10 W ......... Arizona ......... 23-17 L ...atKansasCity ...33-28 L ....... Cleveland ....... 40-25 W at Pittsburgh 26-23 (OT) Oct. 13 ...... Cincinnati ...... 1 Oct. 20 ... at Seattle ... 4:25 Oct. 27 ............. BYE ............. Nov. 3 . New England . 8:20 Nov.10...atCincinnati...1 Nov. 17 ....... Houston ....... 1 Nov. 25 at L.A. Rams 8:15 Dec.1 ...SanFrancisco ...1 Dec. 8 ....... at Buffalo ....... 1 Dec. 12 .... N.Y. Jets .... 8:20 Dec.22 ...atCleveland ...1 Dec. 29 .... Pittsburgh ..... 1
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
TV: CBS
Danny Sheridan’s line: Ravens by 12
Bengals’ keys to victory: They have to keep the Ravens’ defense honest. That means finding success with the run game early so Baltimore can’t swing more players into coverage or put a big pass rush on QB Andy Dalton. Getting chunks of yards on the ground also would open passing lanes. On defense, it’s all about taking away QB Lamar Jackson’s favorite weapons, TE Mark Andrews and WR Marquise Brown. When those two have been contained, Jackson has either forced risky passes to them or needed to sit in the pocket and wait for someone else to get open.
Ravens’ keys to victory: If they can take away the flats from Bengals RB Joe Mixon and play tighter over the middle, it will force the Bengals to run the ball, which they haven’t done well. Offensively, Baltimore has a few weapons and ways to attack, but QB Lamar Jackson needs to take what the defense offers without forcing the ball into tight coverage.
Matchup to watch: Bengals WR Tyler Boyd vs. Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey. Humphrey has gotten off to an all-pro-caliber start, but Boyd is a tough matchup. Without WRs A.J. Green and John Ross in the lineup, Boyd likely will be the focus of the Bengals’ passing attack. If Humphrey can shut him down, it will kill drives and make Dalton more likely to turn the ball over.
Who wins? The Bengals have too many injuries to key players and already are one-dimensional on offense, making Dalton a sitting duck. The Ravens also have myriad weapons on offense, providing them with mismatches to exploit.
Ravens, 31-10