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What the Cincinnati Bengals need to do to beat the Baltimore Ravens

Kelsey Conway, Cincinnati Enquirer
·4 min read

The Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) host the Baltimore Ravens (1-0) for their season opener on Sunday.

After an embarrassing debut on the road at Cleveland, the Bengals are expecting a much better performance against another of their division rivals. The Week 2 meeting between quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson marks the third meeting between these clubs in nine months.

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Here's what the Bengals need to do against the Baltimore Ravens to get their first win of the season.

Control the tempo of the game by starting fast

There’s no secret about what the Bengals want to do on offense. Cincinnati wants to air it out and let its wide receivers and quarterback go to work. When the Bengals’ wide receiver trio of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are on with Burrow, they’re one of the best offensive units in the NFL.

When there’s communications errors and the timing isn’t on with these four players, the offense struggles. You saw that in Cleveland.

Joe Burrow and his outstanding set of receivers want to get off to a good start and put the Ravens' defense on its heels. The Ravens, on the other hand, want to control the ball and limit the Bengals' offensive possessions.
Joe Burrow and his outstanding set of receivers want to get off to a good start and put the Ravens' defense on its heels. The Ravens, on the other hand, want to control the ball and limit the Bengals' offensive possessions.

The Ravens want to run the ball – it’s their bread and butter. Similar to the Browns, in an ideal world Baltimore wants to control the clock to limit the possessions of their opponent. Burrow and the Bengals know this and it’s why there’s high emphasis on how Cincinnati comes out of the gates.

“They run the ball really well on offense, so it limits your possessions, and then their defense is tough, physical,” Burrow said of the Ravens this week. “They are very sound in their scheme. They do a great job of sending blitzes at you that you don't see on tape before. They have a lot of great week-to-week gameplan stuff so you have to be able to adapt well to it. They've got good players, good coach, good scheme. It's going to be a challenge.”

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In the Bengals’ most recent meeting with the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs last season, Baltimore made it difficult for Cincinnati to get anything going on offense. The Ravens won the time of possession battle, controlling the clock for 32:26 minutes compared to Cincinnati’s 27:34 minutes.

Rush smartly against Lamar Jackson

The Ravens enter this game with several injuries to key players. Baltimore will be down two starting offensive linemen against the Bengals. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum are not expected to play.

Going up against Lamar Jackson, the Bengals’ defensive line will have to rush smartly. He’s incredibly dynamic with his feet and if he’s able to get out of the pocket he can cause problems.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson may be forced to scramble even more than usual as offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum are not expected to play.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson may be forced to scramble even more than usual as offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum are not expected to play.

The Texans registered seven quarterback hits on Jackson in the Week 1 matchup. Baltimore’s offense had a sloppy performance in their debut with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. If Cincinnati’s defensive line can get to Jackson quickly and affect him, they should be able to win the game.

Jackson has a new top target on offense and his name is Zay Flowers. Baltimore’s first-round wide receiver pick had one of the best rookie debut performances in the NFL last week catching nine passes for 78 yards. How they contain Jackson and Flowers is at the top of the list of priorities for defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

Win the turnover margin

In AFC North battles, whoever protects the ball the best usually comes out on top. Ball security for the Bengals’ offense is key. On the other side of the ball, if the Bengals can get to Jackson early and turn up the pressure in the pocket, Jackson is more likely to turn the ball over which would create more possessions for the offense.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What the Cincinnati Bengals need to do to beat the Baltimore Ravens