Ravens vs. Bengals Preview: Rivalry Reignited

The Baltimore Ravens face their division rivals once again under the bright lights.

Oct 6, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) escapes the tackle of Cincinnati Bengals safety Geno Stone (22) during the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals has always been intense, but with all the close, high-stakes games over the past few years, it's reached a whole new level.

That was certainly the case when these teams last met in Week 5, a meeting that ended in a 41-38 road victory for the Ravens. Both offenses put on a show, and despite playing from behind for most of the game, Baltimore made just enough plays when it mattered to escape with an overtime win.

Now, the two teams are set to renew their vows once again, this time in Baltimore with the Ravens debuting their spiffy "Purple Rising" alternate helmets. Theatrics aside, the Ravens know they have a tough test ahead of them once more.

"As I told the guys, 'We are hurdling towards Thursday Night Football against the Bengals at The Bank.' We're looking forward to that; we understand what a big game it is," head coach John Harbaugh said. "Obviously, they see it the same way, so we're going to have to be at our very best. [It's] a very important game, but we're locked in and preparing for that right now. That's what we're doing."

Offensively, everyone knows what the Bengals do best: Joe Burrow throwing the ball to his elite weapons. Tee Higgins is doubtful to play, but Ja'Marr Chase, who had 10 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting, can still terrorize this secondary if given the chance.

Even though Baltimore won that first game, the defense still has a bad taste in its mouth that it wants to get rid of.

"I think for the defense – from a defensive perspective – obviously, we won that game, but I feel like the offense kind of willed us to that win," safety Kyle Hamilton said. "We're not proud of that game, and it's something that we learned from, and we want to come back and improve on, and we have the opportunity to do that and right our wrong."

On the other side of the ball, the Bengals' defense looks unassuming at first as they rank in the bottom half of the league in most key stats. However, they do still have some difference makers such as Trey Hendrickson, who leads the league with 11 sacks, so the Ravens will need to be on their A-game.

"The first game we played [the Bengals] this season they were showing me all types of looks, so there's no telling what they [are] going to be doing this game," quarterback Lamar Jackson said. "Hopefully it'd be probably the same, because we put up a lot of points."

Baltimore leads the all-time series 31-27 and has won the past three games. It will look to continue that success once kickoff rolls around at 8:15 p.m. ET.

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