Ebony Bird
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Baltimore Ravens rivals: Takeaways around the AFC North

By Davis Baker

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 22: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens shakes hands with Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns after the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Baltimore defeated Cleveland 31-15. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 22: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens shakes hands with Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns after the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Baltimore defeated Cleveland 31-15. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 13: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks to pass the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers during the game at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 13: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks to pass the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers during the game at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Cincinnati Bengals: Promise and potential

The Cincinnati Bengals have the potential to be one of the most entertaining teams in the NFL this season. If all goes well, they should double their win total from last year, while getting Joe Burrow as comfortable to NFL life as possible. The Bengals ended up losing 16-13 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday after kicker Randy Bullock missed a 31-yard field goal to potentially tie the game with seven seconds remaining.

Cincinnati has plenty of weapons at skill positions on offense. When healthy, Joe Mixon is one of the best running backs in the NFL, and A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd give Burrow a nice duo at receiver. Burrow was 23-36 passing for 193 yards and one interception – which was a really bad one on a shovel pass in the fourth quarter. While that stat line does not jump out at you at all, it’s important to put it into context. During an offseason with no rookie mini camp, no OTA’s and no preseason games, Burrow showed plenty of potential against one of the best defensive lines in football.

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The highlight of Burrow’s day came on a designed quarterback draw where he fooled the Chargers’ defense and ran it in for a 23-yard touchdown. Burrow is not going to be Lamar Jackson or Deshaun Watson with his feet, but if he can make the right plays at the right time while running, this will significantly change how defenses will try to defend him.

Former Raven Josh Bynes had a nice day defensively for the Bengals, racking up eight tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Bynes should help a Bengals defense that was 25th in total defense last season.

The Bengals will travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns on Thursday night. Although both teams are coming off of a loss, it seems as if all the pressure is on the Browns. The Bengals could easily be 1-0 right now, if not for a few miscues late in the fourth quarter. In a duel of number one overall picks, if Burrow outplays Baker Mayfield on Thursday, the “Burrow is already better than Baker,” story line is going to heat up very quickly.

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