Baltimore was extremely motivated to defeat former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and his New York squad that had received a lot of fanfare as the team to beat in the AFC. The Ravens let their play on the field do the talking and will try to do the same thing here against another of their past defensive coordinators in Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis.
New York’s offense was virtually non-existent thanks to Baltimore’s defense, starting with quarterback Mark Sanchez, who completed only 10 of 21 passes for 74 yards. The Jets were somewhat respectable on the ground with 116 yards rushing, but 43 of those came on two runs. The Ravens held them to just six first downs and one third-down conversion on 11 attempts.
Offensively, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco carried most of the load by completing 20 of 38 passes for 248 yards. Flacco threw one interception but connected with new wide receiver Anquan Boldin on seven passes for 110 yards in his debut for the Ravens after coming over in an offseason trade with Arizona. Running back Ray Rice was held relatively in check though, carrying the ball 21 times for 43 yards and catching two passes for 19 more.
Cincinnati could have a difficult time with Flacco based on how the team performed against Tom Brady and the Patriots last week. Brady threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, including two to wide receiver Wes Welker in his first regular-season game back from a knee injury.
The Bengals also finished with deceptive offensive numbers since a good chunk of them came after they were down 31-3. They outscored New England 21-7 after the Pats returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown, with quarterback Carson Palmer throwing for 345 yards, two touchdowns and an interception that was returned for a score in the first half.
Palmer did his best to spread the wealth among his receiving corps but had a hard time connecting with Owens. Chad Ochocinco led the way with 12 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown while Owens was targeted the same amount of times (13) yet made seven catches. Rookie wide receiver Jordan Shipley and tight end Jermaine Gresham did make impressive debuts for Cincy, combining for 11 catches and 107 yards, including a touchdown.
The UNDER has cashed in four of the last five meetings between the Ravens and Bengals, who have dominated the matchup by winning seven of the last 10 both straight-up and against the spread. Baltimore owns a nearly perfect mark of 11-1 ATS in its last 12 vs. teams with a losing record, and the UNDER has also gone 6-1-1 in the team’s last eight road games. With all that being said we actually lean towards the Over in this contest. We feel that both offenses have improved and both defenses could be taking a small step back this year, not much, but enough to push this over the posted total of 40. We do offer free nfl picks via our newsletter but also premium ats selections in the NFL. This week we have our AFC East Game of the Year and it should be another easy winner. Dont miss the chance to profit with Maddux’s expert NFL picks.
