Baltimore Favored to Sweep Season Series Against Cincinnati
Injuries On Both Sides Could Impact Result of AFC North Clash Between Ravens and Bengals
Baltimore Has A Chance to Sweep Season Series for the First Time Since 2020
Division rivals Cincinnati and Baltimore look to bounce back from disappointing Week 10 losses as they meet for the second time this season. The Bengals vs Ravens betting trends have Baltimore as the favorite.
When the teams met in Week 2, visiting Baltimore never trailed in the 27-24 win. Could this game be a lower-scoring affair?
Baltimore leads the AFC North standings with a 7-3 record with Cincinnati in last place at 5-4 in the only division with all four teams holding winning records.
When looking at the NFL betting lines, Baltimore is favored by 3.5 points. This is the seventh meeting between the AFC North contenders when the home team is favored. Baltimore is trying to sweep the regular-season series against Cincinnati for the first time since the 2020 season.
Defensive ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson, linebackers Akeem Davis-Gaither and Devin Harper, cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and defensive tackle Josh Tupou are questionable for Cincinnati with receiver Tee Higgins doubtful after missing the last game.
Offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley, cornerbacks Jalyn Armour-Davis, Marlon Humphrey and Daryl Worley as well as linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Trenton Simpson are questionable for Baltimore.
When taking a peek at the NFL schedule, this is a stretch of five games against winning teams over the next seven games for Baltimore. Cincinnati plays six of the next seven contests against teams with winning records.
Baltimore (+125) has the best odds of winning the AFC North title with Cincinnati coming in third at +450. In the odds of winning the Super Bowl, The Ravens are fourth at +900 with Cincinnati coming in at +1200 in the championship odds.
Bengals vs Ravens 
Day/Time:
Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Line: Baltimore -3.5
Total: 46
Streaming: Prime Video
The Bengals Have a Passing Fancy
Cincinnati doesn’t make much of an effort to have a balanced offense as the Bengals are second in passing attempts and last in rushing attempts this season.
Quarterback Joe Burrow is averaging a career-low 6.3 yards per attempt and could be without receiver Tee Higgins. Keep that in mind when looking at the Bengals vs Ravens betting trends.
The good news is that Ja’Marr Chase was able to play in the loss to Houston despite being limited in practice. Chase finished with a season-low 31 yards in the first game against Baltimore. It remains to be seen how the expected absence of Higgins will impact the passing game.
Cincinnati has covered in four of its last five games.
Ravens Getting Defensive
It is a little early to start mentioning this Baltimore defense with the unit that led the Ravens to the Super Bowl after the 2000 season. However, Baltimore is first in scoring defense and is second in total defense. The Ravens are the hardest NFL team to score against in the first half, giving up 5.4 points. That is something to consider when it comes to the Bengals vs Ravens betting trends.
Baltimore has held the lead at halftime in each of the last seven games but has lost two of those games.
Five of the top six tacklers are 25 or younger with the top tackler being 26-year-old Roquan Smith so the best could be yet to come for this defense.
The total has gone under in 10 of Baltimore’s last 12 home games and 13 of its last 20 games.
Last Meeting
Lamar Jackson threw two touchdown passes as Baltimore snapped a three-game road losing streak to Cincinnati.
The Bengals were listed as a three-point favorite but never led in the Sept. 27 game that was won by Baltimore 27-24.
The game went over the 45.5-point total on Burrow’s touchdown pass to Higgins with 3:28 left to play.
Bengals vs Ravens Betting Preview
Each of the last four games between Baltimore and Cincinnati have finished as one-score games.
The home team had four games in a row before the matchup earlier this season.
Five of the last six NFL games between the Ravens and Bengals finished over the total.
Baltimore and Cincinnati are a combined 10-8-1 against the NFL lines so far this season. The Ravens are 3-2 against the spread as a home favorite this season while Cincinnati has covered in its only game this season as the underdog on the road.
With a total of 48, it is the eighth straight meeting to be under 49 between the teams.
Baltimore having three cornerbacks on the NFL injury report while getting ready to meet up with one of the best receivers in the NFL in Chase is not ideal and neither is the injury to left offensive tackle Stanley.
Keep an eye on the updates of Cincinnati’s defensive ends Hendrickson and Hubbard as they would be crucial in trying to contain Jackson, one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL.
Cincinnati has covered in 15 of its last 20 games but it might be hard for that to continue on Thursday.
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