The Baltimore Ravens move on to the second part of their early-season revenge mission as they visit AFC North rivals Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.
Both teams started the season with a win as the ravens blew out the hapless Buffalo Bills while the Bengals came from behind to spoil Andrew Luck’s return to action for the Indianapolis Colts.
The Ravens still owe the Bengals one after Cincy secured a dramatic victory on New Year’s Eve to knock Baltimore out of play-off contention and allow the Bills to end their long post-season drought.
John Harbaugh’s squad emphatically exacted revenge on Buffalo last Sunday, only just avoiding a shutout in a 47-3 demolition job.
Now they’re out for part two of their revenge mission in Cincinnati.
Who to watch out for in Baltimore @ Cincinnati
Ravens QB Joe Flacco was given a fright by the Ravens drafting talented college star Lamar Jackson but the Super Bowl winner responded with a strong pre-season and he threw three TD passes against Buffalo to his new receivers Michael Crabtree, John Brown and Willie Snead.
This new-found aerial attack adds a much-needed string to the Baltimore offensive bow and if Flacco can start to rekindle the form of old then they could really be in business this season given Pittsburgh’s problems in the division.
Speaking of Jackson, last week’s blowout enabled Harbaugh to get his top draft pick onto the field and he showcased his versatility by playing under centre in the second half after previously throwing and running with the ball – even taking a hand-off from Flacco.
That could be a sign of things to come in Baltimore.
For the Bengals, they engineered a fourth-quarter comeback against the Colts that gave them a winning start to the season, and along with QB Andy Dalton and receiver AJ Green they also now seem to have their running back star to lean on.
Joe Mixon produced one of the performances of the week on Sunday as he ran up 149 total yards in an exemplary dual-threat performance from 17 carries and five catches – Baltimore will need to bottle him up to stop the Bengals moving the ball.
Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 27-20 Cincinnati Bengals (Sky Bet odds: 100/1)
TD scorer: Joe Mixon anytime TD scorer at 11/10
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