Bengals Are Confident They Can Hold Off Ravens In AFC North
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens won the AFC North twice in the past four years and they are looking to get back on top.
However, the Bengals are the new kings of the division and they don't plan on relinquishing their hold on the crown.
Duke Tobin, Cincinnati's director of player personnel, is confident the franchise is now an appealing landing spot for free agents. He knows the other AFC North teams are gunning for them, but he is confident the Bengals have the pieces in place to remain competitive for years to come.
The Bengals have a young talented roster and close to $50 million to spend in free agency.
"We have nothing but high regard and respect for the teams in our division," Tobin said at this week's NFL Combine. "Our division doesn't go away. It's full of teams that are well-organized, well-coached and they have good players. We feel like if we can develop a team that can win our division, we also have a team that can beat the other divisions as well."
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow played two of his finest games against the Ravens, throwing for 941 yards with seven touchdowns.
In the Week 16 game in Cincinnati, Burrow threw for a franchise-record 525 yards and four touchdowns. With a 20-point lead and two minutes remaining, Burrow threw a 52-yard pass to Joe Mixon. Cincinnati aggressively attacked a depleted Baltimore team even when a 41-21 victory was all but secured.
This prompted former Ravens linebacker Bart Scott to say, the Bengals "won a lifetime career ass-kicking from the Baltimore Ravens."
Cincinnati also beat the Ravens 41-17 in Week 7 at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Ravens, however, were decimated with injuries in both of the games, especially in the secondary. Baltimore also played with a third-string quarterback in the latter game.
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta acknowledged the tide has turned in the AFC North, but he's confident his team can make a run at a division title next season.
"It’s kind of like [Chinese general] Sun Tzu – studying your enemies," DeCosta said. "I think we have to look at all the best teams, and how do we beat the best teams? Obviously, the Bengals are one of the best teams right now. They’re a very tough team to defend. They have excellent skill position players. They’ve improved quite a bit, and they’ve got a quarterback that’s fantastic.
"So, we’ll have to find ways of adjusting what we do to play them most efficiently and effectively, and we’ll do that. [It’s] not unlike challenges that we’ve had in the past. In the early part of John’s [Harbaugh] tenure as a head coach, the Steelers were a great team."
