We’ve got a doozy here folks. Division rivalry? Check. High over/under? Check? Close spread? Check? The only thing we are missing is a primetime television slot. 

But 1 PM ET on Sunday October 5th is as good of a time as any. Now we just need to break these two teams down and make our Week 5 predictions for the Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals. 

Even if you just want to see the Ravens vs. Bengals odds and have Ravens vs. Bengals picks of your own, don’t forget to scroll down at the end to see how you can scoop up a $1,500 BetMGM Sportsbook sign-up bonus! We suggest you do a trial on our “best bets” as we went 4 for 4 on ours last week!

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Bengals Predictions For NFL Week 5, Sunday 10/6

Given that they are both AFC North teams, these two naturally square off fairly regularly. But they’ve also both been NFL caliber teams which means they face each other even more often than most teams. 

In fact, in the calendar year of 2023, they actually played FOUR times when they played back-to-back games to end the 2022-2023 season and start the AFC Wild Card round then two more times during the 2023 regular season. 

Since joining the league, Lamar Jackson now has an 8-2 record against Joe Burrow including winning both games last year (though Burrow did leave the second matchup with a wrist injury). 

As always, this game will have serious implications for the division and the trajectory of these teams as the 2-2 Ravens attempt to cross the .500 threshold and the 1-3 Bengals try to keep things afloat. 

 

 

 

Baltimore Ravens: The Reign Of King Derrick Henry

In fantasy football circles, there have been some complaints about the usage of Mark Andrews. But the Baltimore Ravens coaching stash probably could care less about that. The one game that Mark Andrews was featured in was a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. In the last two games he hasn’t caught a pass. And that’s mostly due to Derrick Henry.

Ask any NFL coach and the ideal game sees you run all over the other team, play good defense, and go home. It leaves the smallest margin for error. So, when Derrick Henry has 25 carries for 151 yards against the Cowboys and 24 carries for 199 yards against the Bills, it doesn’t really matter who catches the 12-13 completions.

The Ravens defense started slow which was chalked up to miscommunication early on. Since then, their talented players like Kyle Hamilson, Roquan Smith, and Odafe Oweh have really clicked. Through for games they are 9th in DVOA per FTN Fantasy and considered a top defense in the AFC.  

 

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow Against The Clock

The Bengals did not have an ideal offseason by any means. Both star wide receivers, Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase, were disgruntled with their contracts which led to limited work this offseason. 

That slow start almost certainly contributed to a brutal loss to the New England Patriots. The Commanders have proven a tougher team than folks gave them credit for and another loss to the Chiefs put the Bengals at 0-3 before they beat Andy Dalton and the Carolina Panthers.

This game isn’t necessarily a must win but, with the “any given Sunday” nature of this league, you can’t pile up too many losses early and make the playoffs. Especially in a division like the AFC North. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have returned to form while the duo of Zack Moss and Chase Brown has filled the shoes of Joe Mixon just fine. 

The scary situation for the Bengals here is that they currently rank 26th in DVOA vs. the run. The Bills are a top 6 team in DVOA per FTN and the Ravens still ran all over them. If the Ravens can establish the run, the Bengals offense will need to be perfect on the way back to hang in this game. 

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Bengals Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

As promised, the latest Ravens vs. Bengals odds can be found below courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook:

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Bengals Predictions: Baltimore -2.5 (-110 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

This one is pretty simple for me. The Bengals have already struggled against the run. And it’s looking like they’ll be without Sheldon Rankins and possibly playing with a banged-up BJ Hill. The Ravens should have no problem firing up the Derrick Henry machine once again.

Not to mention, I think these Ravens pass-catchers are more potent than we’ve been led to believe in recent weeks. Folks have been calling Mark Andrews “washed” yet Zay Flowers also had only one catch in that game. It’s been a matter of game script, not of talent. This week I think folks get a true glimpse of what the Ravens weapons can do.

Not that the Cincinnati Bengals don’t have talented weapons. This one could hit the over (which is set fairly high at 49.5). It’s just that the Ravens defense is good at combatting what the Bengals do well, but the Bengals defense has struggled against the run where the Ravens thrive. This is a game of matchups, after all. 

 

 

 

Ravens vs. Bengals Injury Report & Latest News

Finally, let’s take a quick look at the projected starting lineups for both teams heading into tonight’s matchup:

BAL Ravens

CIN Bengals

 

 

 

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Now that you’re armed with our Ravens vs. Bengals predictions, let’s take you through the aforementioned $1,500 BetMGM sign up bonus. You’ll just need the BetMGM promo code ALARM when creating a new account, but our links and banners should have it filled in for you.

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