Baltimore Ravens vs. Bengals: 3 predictions for Thursday Night Football

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 09: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 09: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 9: Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 9: Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the Baltimore Ravens chance at revenge against the Cincinnati Bengals. Here are three predictions for TNF:

1. The Baltimore Ravens front 7 dominates the game

The Baltimore Ravens front seven is going to dominate the Bengals offensive line. Players like Terrell Suggs, Matt Judon and Tim Williams are going to make plays in the backfield. Joe Mixon isn’t going to get going and the Bengals offense will be one-dimensional. The Ravens will make getting to Andy Dalton priority number one. This is bad news for Dalton, because the Ravens defense can bring it.

It will be tough for the Ravens to top their six sack performance against the Bills, however the Ravens are capable of repeating similar numbers. The 2017 season opener saw the Ravens sack the Andy Dalton five times. That was with Dean Pees, who is much less aggressive than Don Martindale.

The Bengals offense has much more to offer than that of the Buffalo Bills. The Ravens know that the Bengals are going to give them a real test. The Bengals offensive line isn’t going to be able to stop the Ravens pass rush and that’s what it ultimately boils down to. The Ravens are going to own the line of scrimmage defensively. It will knock the Bengals out of rhythm and it will prevent them from getting the offense to run at full strength.

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