By Larry Carney, WMAR-TVEverything went right for the Cincinnati Bengals, during their first game with the Baltimore Ravens.
RB Cedric Benson went wild, running for 120 yards against a Ravens defense that hadn’t given up a 100-yard rusher in 39 games. And despite the struggles of Baltimore’s defense this year, the purple and black appeared to be rejuvenated against Denver last week and still ranks 4th in the league in rushing defense.
Cincinnati QB Carson Palmer & WR Chad Ochocinco came up with big plays whenever they needed it. But remember, the game-winning drive was helped by a Ray Lewis unnecessary roughness penalty and a pass interference call on Frank Walker, who was actually benched last week.
I expect the Ravens to tighten up on defense and get to the quarterback more. One wrinkle in the plan is the status of defensive tackle Haloti Ngata who has a sprained ankle. If he doesn’t go, Justin Bannan will replace him. Ngata’s absence will make it tougher to stop Benson and get to Palmer.
On the other side of the ball, the Ravens only ran for 86 yards as a team against the Bengals. Despite leading for most of the game, Baltimore only tried to run 18 times.
That has to change Sunday and it will. The Ravens need to run the ball, to setup the pass.
Ravens QB Joe Flacco & his favorite target WR Derrick Mason struggled. Mason didn’t get a single catch.
The Bengals did a great job making sure that Mason wasn’t going to beat them. Ravens Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron will find a way to get him some touches this time. Cincinnati’s secondary will be able to keep Mason’s touches down, but they won’t shut him out this time.
The Bengals should struggle to find the same success on defense. The Bengals will miss DE Antwan Odom, who’s out for the year. In the first meeting, Baltimore’s offensive line needed to double him up to make sure he couldn’t get to Flacco.
Baltimore won’t be fooled twice. Take the Ravens 23-14.
