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The Baltimore Ravens will face the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday. The Bengals picked up their first victory of the season last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Ravens played the Bengals twice last season. The Ravens won the first matchup 23-17 and followed that with a 49-13 blowout win in their second meeting.
Here are five players to watch:
Matt Judon and Tyus Bowser
The Bengals offensive line has struggled to protect rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow has already been sacked 15 times this season. That is the second-highest mark in the league behind Deshaun Watson. The offensive line particularly struggled against the Eagles in Week 3. They allowed a whopping eight sacks and 18 quarterback hits to the Eagles.
Judon had easily his best game of the season against the Washington Football Team. He had two sacks and five quarterback hits. Bowser had a strong start to the season with a sack in his first two games. The Ravens will need to put pressure on the Bengals offensive line, and that starts with Judon and Bowser. Both of them could have big games on Sunday.
Lamar Jackson
Jackson missed Wednesday’s practice due to a knee injury. It is reportedly “not considered serious” and was “precautionary”.
Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson did not practice today due to a knee injury that is not considered serious, per source. He was held out of practice for “precautionary reasons.” With Jackson out today, RG3 took the QB reps.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 7, 2020
Since the injury is not considered serious, it seems that Jackson should be ready for Sunday’s game. Nevertheless, it is a story worth monitoring.
Gus Edwards
Edwards has become a weekly entry on this list. He is their most efficient running back, and he actually led the backfield in carries against Washington.
The Bengals are struggling to stop the run. This season, they have allowed 634 total rushing yards; that is the fifth-most in the NFL. Let’s take a quick look at Cincinnati’s two losses this season. They allowed the Chargers to rush for 155 yards on 39 carries in Week 1. In Week 2, the Browns ran the ball 35 times for 215 yards. Conversely, the Jaguars only ran the ball 20 times for 89 yards in the Bengals win last week. The Jaguars failed the exploit the Bengals weakness, as they ran the ball nearly half as much as the Chargers did. The Ravens obviously excel at running the football, and they will need to stay committed to it this week.
Marlon Humphrey
The Bengals actually have a strong wide receiver group. Tyler Boyd is leading the way right now with 320 receiving yards. Rookie Tee Higgins has been impressive; he had 77 receiving yards last week. Finally, A.J. Green’s statistics are down, but the seven-time Pro-Bowler should not be underestimated.
Luckily, the Ravens have an extremely talented secondary, which is led by cornerback Marlon Humphrey. They did a great job in their last meeting holding Tyler Boyd to a mere ten yards.