Quick Slant: TNF - The Chill Hits the Wudder, the Stakes Grow High; Expect Fireworks Near the Inner Harbor Tonight
Bengals @ Ravens, Thursday @ 8:15 PM
Thursday night brings us a classic AFC North showdown between the Bengals and Ravens, teams with familiar rhythms, predictable and strange.
For Cincinnati, there’s the slow start – their autumnal ritual. They began this season in a lethargic quiet. Yet, November finds them awakening behind the golden arm (and golden-streaked tips) of Joe Burrow. Dealing with a skeletal-thin offense devoid of crucial players, Joe Brrrr reminded everyone last week that he’s still a star, tossing five tuddies in a conclusive reminder of Cincinnati's forgotten-each-September potential. The Bengals have taken some wounds – Trent and Orlando Brown, Dax Hill, and Tee Higgins; Sunday, they added promising young TE Erick All and 1B-RB Zack Moss to the list, each with serious injuries. And yet, through it all – the record, the pangs, and one of the toughest divisions in the game – the Bengals seem ever-present in the race to the top.
Baltimore, meanwhile, moves confidently. Sitting at 6-3, having just brought over Diontae Johnson from Carolina, giving Lamar Jackson yet another weapon in what might be his finest season yet, Baltimore has proven they are all in. Eyeing his third MVP, Jackson rises to the challenge of holding up an ascending generation along the Chesapeake. But Baltimore’s defense, a franchise hallmark, shows unfamiliar cracks – especially in the secondary – leaving Jackson with slimmer margins than ever before.
When the chill finally sets in along the East Coast, both teams approach a crossroads: Cincinnati, clawing back from early stumbles, and Baltimore, fine-tuning a talented but perhaps vulnerable roster. Thursday will show which of these familiar narratives can twist – who can climb, hold, and remain best equipped for the grueling homestretch.
Bengals' Implied Team Total: 23.5
Cincinnati and Baltimore are expected to shoot out, combining for the highest over/under of the week. Cincinnati is expected to lose, but their implied total still ranks in the league’s top half.
