Bengals' attempt to troll Ravens looks more like a self-own than a savage burn

The Baltimore Ravens drew a favorable schedule for the 2026 season. They have what looks to be an incredibly easy start to the year, and as a whole, their schedule should favor a run to get back into contention.

There’s one worry that some have, though. There’s a gauntlet of AFC North opponents awaiting them from Week 15 to Week 18. One of the more anticipated matchups of that stretch is their Thursday Night Football battle against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17.

Like many teams, the Bengals had fun with their schedule release, throwing jabs at their opponents along the way. For the Ravens, sure, they had some nice burns, but some actually looked more like self-inflicted wounds.

The Maxx Crosby joke? That’d work if your star pass rusher didn’t sign with the Ravens a day later. The ball drop? Yeah, that was a touchdown.

Cincinnati Bengals’ attempt to mock Baltimore Ravens backfires

Of course, it’s all fun and games. The content that comes out on NFL schedule release day is always some of the best content of the entire year. Social media teams use their creative freedom to get fans amped for what’s to come. And credit where credit is due, the Bengals' social team did a good job. However, it’s also true that their attempt to mock the Ravens didn’t really land.

Baltimore fans had to know the Crosby jokes were coming. Their decision to back out of the Maxx Crosby trade was extremely polarizing, and no matter how you feel about it, the jokes are fun. The Bengals weren’t the only ones to burn the Ravens about it. The Los Angeles Chargers made a similar dig in what is quite possibly the best schedule release of the year.

However, knowing what occurred after the Crosby saga, it kind of looks tough for Cincinnati. Baltimore eventually signed the former Bengals All-Pro pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, to a four-year, $112 million contract. You can take a dig at the Ravens all you want for Crosby, but it definitely ended in a way that the Bengals hoped to avoid.

As for the ball drop joke, which was paired with a clip of a Ravens player dropping the football, that happened to be Lamar Jackson. Of course, they left out the rest of the clip where Jackson picked up the ball, stiff-armed Bengals defensive lineman Sam Hubbard, and threw a touchdown to Isaiah Likely, which led to a comeback win. Here’s the highlight as a quick refresher.

Obviously, none of this matters. It’s just lighthearted social content. But you can’t say the jokes didn't backfire a bit. Regardless, we’ll see how Baltimore’s matchups with Cincinnati go in 2026. Luck is usually on the Ravens.

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