Ravens News 9/13: Gameday primer, predictions and more

NFL Week 2 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) vs. Baltimore Ravens (1-0) - Patrick Judis

Linebacker Terrell Suggs had two sacks and a forced fumble in his last road game against Cincinnati. He has five sacks and three forced fumbles in his past five games against the Bengals. Linebacker C.J. Mosley had eight tackles and an interception in his last game at Cincinnati. In his past six games against the AFC North, Mosely has 55 tackles (9.2 per game), two forced fumbles and an interception. Since entering NFL in 2014, he is the only player with over 450 tackles (474), eight sacks and eight interceptions.

Safety Eric Weddle has three interceptions in his past five games against divisional opponents. Linebacker Matthew Judon had a sack in the last meeting. He aims for his third game in a row with a sack against a divisional opponent. Corner back Brandon Carr aims for his third game in a row with an interception in Cincinnati.

Geno Atkins has 3.5 sacks in his past four games at home against the Ravens. Carlos Dunlap has sacks in three of his past four meetings with Baltimore. He aims for his third game in a row against the AFC North with a sack. He has six tackles for loss in the past five games against the division.

Darqueze Dennard had and 89- yard interception returned for a touchdown in the last meeting. Carl Lawson has 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss in his past two games at home against the division. Safety Clayton Fejedelem had 10 tackles, a forced fumble and an 83-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown last week.

Historically, the team that wins the turnover battle has a 75 to 80-percent chance of winning the game.

Ravens seek to avenge season-ending loss to Bengals - Reuters

The Ravens get a rematch with the Bengals on Thursday in Cincinnati.

A reporter asking Monday about last year’s game couldn’t even get the whole question out before Ravens coach John Harbaugh interjected, “Thanks for the reminder. I appreciate that.”

Asked if that result provides extra motivation this week, Harbaugh replied, “Probably. How could it not be part of it? ...

“That’s life. It’s human nature. You always want to redeem yourself as best as you can, certainly, but it’s not going to factor into who wins the game.”

That result aside, the Bengals have owned the Ravens of late, winning seven of the past nine meetings and five of the past six at Paul Brown Stadium.

“I don’t know, man, no clue,” [A.J.] Green said when asked why he shines so bright against Baltimore. “Sometimes that’s the way the cards fall. ... They’re one of the best defenses I go against every year, so it’s always going to be a challenge.”

John Harbaugh remains one of the most sincere coaches in all of sports. Jumping out to a 2-0 start in 2018, however, is much more important than earning revenge against Cincinnati.

NFL picks: Predictions for Ravens vs. Bengals | Thursday Night Football (9/13/18); Is Joe Flacco elite? Joe Mixon the real deal? - Joe Giglio

Matthew Stypulkowski: The Ravens absolutely exploded against the Bills last week, so they have that going for them. Frankly, these two teams should be pretty closely matched, but the Ravens have the momentum edge. Ravens 24, Bengals 17.

Zack Rosenblatt: If everyone’s healthy, the Bengals have an intriguing balance of offensive weapons and a talented defense, especially along the defensive line. In a battle of average quarterbacks, Andy Dalton for the Bengals and Joe Flacco for the Ravens, the redhead gets the edge. Bengals 28, Ravens 21.

Darryl Slater: A meeting of two probably slightly above average quarterbacks -- the Ravens’ Joe Flacco and the Bengals’ Andy Dalton. Hard to get a true read on the Ravens because they pounded a Nathan Peterman-quarterbacked Bills team in their opener. And he stinks. Slight edge to the Bengals at home here. Bengals 21, Ravens 20.

Joe Giglio: This rivalry always brings out the unexpected. This time, we could be looking at two surprise upstart teams in what could suddenly be a winnable AFC North. The winner of this game will be off and running, at 2-0 and thinking about a big year. Baltimore avenges last year’s Week 17 shocking loss with a last second field goal. Ravens 23, Bengals 20.

Most view the Ravens and Bengals as two evenly matched teams and expect a close game that could go either way.