Raven Country

Bengals Facing 'Must-Win' Game vs. Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens look to sink their rivals' playoff hopes once again.

Jon Alfano

Cincinnati Bengals halfback Chase Brown (30) runs the ball in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 5 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. The Bengals fell to 1-4 on the season with a 41-38 loss to the Ravens.
Cincinnati Bengals halfback Chase Brown (30) runs the ball in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 5 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. The Bengals fell to 1-4 on the season with a 41-38 loss to the Ravens. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Now that the regular season is halfway over, every remaining game means that much more, doubly so for divisional matchups. Best believe the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals know that ahead of Thursday night's showdown.

While the Ravens enter this game at a solid 6-3, their rivals aren't in as good a position. The Bengals enter this game at 4-5, and while they're coming off a dominant win over the Las Vegas Raiders, it's still a disappointing record for a team with Super Bowl aspirations heading into the year.

Cincinnati is still alive in the playoff picture, but another loss would put a serious dent in their playoff chances, which are already relatively slim. As such, this game against Baltimore is essentially a must-win.

"Anybody who's rooting for the Cincinnati Bengals knows it's a must-win game," Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson said Sunday. "We had a good plan. There's things we need to correct and obviously we're going to have to do that on a short week."

These two teams last met in Cincinnati on Oct. 6 in an instant classic. Despite playing from behind for most of the game, the Ravens pulled out a 41-38 overtime win thanks to an incredible performance by Lamar Jackson, who completed 26 of 42 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns. He also added another unbelievable play to his highlight reel, recovering a low snap and stiff-arming a Bengals defender before finding Isaiah Likely in the end zone.

Hendrickson, who leads the league with 11 sacks including four in his last game, and the rest of the defense will look to get after Jackson more after scoring just one sack in the first game. On the other side of the ball, Joe Burrow and co. will look to dissect the Ravens' defense once more. Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns in the first game, with just a late interception to Marlon Humphrey bringing down an otherwise great performance.

When kickoff rolls around at 8:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, the Bengals are going to play like their playoff lives depend on it, because they essentially do.

"It's a divisional opponent. It's a must win-game," running back Chase Brown said.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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