Ravens Are Unanimous Choice to Defeat Bengals
It's come down to this.
A month ago, the Ravens' postseason hopes were in serious jeopardy after a three-game losing streak dropped them to 6-5. Their roster had been ravaged by the biggest COVID-19 outbreak in pro sports and injuries to key players.
The resilient Ravens (10-5) responded with four straight victories and have put themselves in position to clinch an AFC wild-card berth with a win over the Bengals (4-10-1) in Cincinnati on Sunday.
All 45 pundits we looked at believe the Ravens will do exactly that.
As 2021 begins, the 2020 Ravens and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson are looking like the 2019 versions of themselves, when they were the most dominant team in the league. There's every reason to feel confident the Ravens will take care of business in Cincinnati. Baltimore, which is favored by 12 points, is 41-0 as a double-digit favorite in the regular season.
The Bengals, however, cannot be overlooked despite their record. They upset the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago and won a shootout over the Houston Texans last week. Plus, as noted in yesterday's Late for Work, Cincinnati has won 12 straight and 17 of its past 18 when entering its home finale with a losing record.
*In the same situation three years ago at M&T Bank Stadium, Cincinnati pulled off a shocking upset of the Ravens to keep them out of the playoffs. But pundits do not see that happening again. *
Here's a sample of what the pundits are saying about the game:
The Ravens are peaking at the right time.
ESPN's Marcus Spears: "They've hit another level. They've realized who they are. Ground and pound, allow Lamar Jackson to be the best player on the field, and they're getting healthy on defense. … This defense has a chance to be one of the dominant units as the playoffs come. I'm picking the Baltimore Ravens to win [Sunday], enter the playoffs and make some noise."
Pro Football Talk's Chris Simms: "Just like the Ravens' offense, Baltimore's defense is starting to really peak, too. They've gotten back to where they're pretty healthy on the defensive side of the ball, and I think they're going into Week 17 and into the playoffs playing about as good of football as they can play. I'm going to go with Baltimore to dominate this game."
The Baltimore Sun's C.J. Doon: "The Ravens are simply playing too well right now in all three phases, rising to ninth in overall efficiency after their fourth straight win. Viewed through the lens of expected points added, the Ravens are in the same tier as top contenders such as Buffalo, Green Bay and Kansas City. With a playoff berth at stake, the Ravens won't take the Bengals lightly."
Even though the Bengals have been playing well on offense the past two weeks, their defense won't be able to stop the Ravens.
NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal: "Brandon Allen is a sneaky competent backup quarterback and the Bengals are competing hard. But there's little reason to believe a defense that just gave up 488 yards to the Texans will be able to slow down the Ravens' reformed spread running attack. Lamar Jackson found his mojo just in time to make the AFC playoffs way more interesting."
CBS Sports' Pete Prisco: "The run game continues to power [the Ravens], which will be the case here. The Bengals won't slow down Lamar Jackson. Ravens take it."
The Ravens are clearly the superior team on both sides of the ball.
Fansided's Matt Vederame: "The Ravens typically crush bad teams. That's what happens when you run the ball terrifically and the defense is built to overwhelm poor quarterbacks. This shouldn't be any different."
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio: "I think the Ravens are that good at this point that even if the Bengals are playing to their full capacity the Ravens still get it done."
With how ferocious the Ravens' pass rush has been the past couple weeks, it could be a long day for Allen.
Penn Live's Aaron Kasinitz: "Defensive Coordinator Don 'Wink' Martindale is sending a variety of players streaming toward quarterbacks, making it possible for eight different players to have at least one sack over the past two games. That pressure has helped Baltimore weather injuries to cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith, and it might frighten Cincinnati's offensive coaches. When they blew out the Bengals, 27-3, in October, the Ravens saw a record five different members of their secondary record a sack. If Cincinnati doesn't get its running game going and winds up in passing situations often, Martindale's group could turn Sunday's game into an ugly one."
January 01, 2021 at 09:41PM
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Late for Work 1/1: Ravens Are Unanimous Choice to Defeat Bengals - BaltimoreRavens.com
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