Baltimore Ravens defensive line will be a major catalyst against Cincinnati Bengals
The Baltimore Ravens are limping into their duel with the Cincinnati Bengals. The odds are in the Bengals' favor despite the difference in record. The Ravens have a banged-up secondary, and the Bengals are just dying to explode as a passing attack. The only way the Ravens can slow this down would be by getting after Joe Burrow by dominating the trenches.
Baltimore Ravens defensive line will be a major catalyst against Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals' offensive line is coming in a bit weaker after the Cleveland Browns had their way with them. The Ravens do not have a Myles Garrett, but they do have some interesting matchups. Odafe Oweh looked great and lined up against Laremy Tunsil. Orland Brown is a different challenge in his own way, but Oweh should have a physical advantage here.
On the flip side, you have Jadeveon Clowney against Jonah Williams. Williams is good but is switching sides and had his issues last week. The Ravens had 12 pressures combined from Clowney and Oweh in week one, and a similar result in week two would be huge for the Ravens to win this game.
Along the interior, the Bengals are even weaker. Cordell Volson has been an issue since he started. Ted Karas is fine but struggled in week one, while Alex Cappa has been up and down and is coming off of an injury from last season. He may not be as good.
The Houston Texans' interior line was even worse than the Bengals', but the Ravens did have a strong game against that interior. Michael Pierce was dominant in the run game, Broderick Washington was all over the place, and Justin Madubuike had a sack. If these three can dominate the three Bengals' interior linemen as they did with the Houston Texans, the Bengals will not have enough time to expose the Ravens cornerbacks.
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Beyond that, the run game will be shut down, and it will allow Clowney and Oweh to pin their ears back and test these new tackles in uncomfortable situations. This is how the Baltimore Ravens win this game. If they do not get home, the Bengals will hit explosive passes down the field, and the Ravens offense will be too banged up along the line to compete.