Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Complete Week 8 Preview for Cincinnati
The cover of the panic button has been forcefully removed for the Cincinnati Bengals, a reeling, hobbled team that must rebound in Week 8 as it plays host to the Baltimore Ravens in a critical AFC North showdown.
Andy Dalton and the Bengals are currently in a staggering post-bye slump. After a curious tie with Carolina in Week 6, Cincinnati went to Indianapolis last week and got shut out in a nightmarish showing, 27-0.
Those Ravens are looking for revenge, too, as Cincinnati went to Baltimore in Week 1 and escaped with a 23-16 win. Since then, though, the Ravens have won five of six and not only tout a top run defense but rank among the league's best in terms of the pass and rush.
If Cincinnati is to avoid a .500 mark, which in theory would be crippling to the its playoff chances as Baltimore pulls away in the division, a severe turnaround on the defensive side of things to counter Joe Flacco and the Ravens is a must—as are some creativity and urgency on offense.
Within, let's break down the critical divisional matchup and all of the important factors that surround it for the limping Bengals.
Week 7 Recap
1 of 5
Call a spade a spade for a moment—the Cincinnati Bengals turned in a Week 7 performance worthy of the wasteland that was the '90s for the franchise.
In fact, things were so bad that the tie the week prior looked like a Super Bowl win.
Call it injuries or something else, but there is zero excuse for three sacks of Andy Dalton, only 135 total yards, 23 rushing yards, a 1-of-13 mark on third down and 11 punts from Kevin Huber.
"Things were disappointing," head coach Marvin Lewis said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "Not having execution on third down offensively, to not make first downs and not make opportunities to keep the drives alive, and then have a couple plays on defense where we didn't play very well."
The defense is not exempt, either, injuries or not. Andrew Luck threw for 344 yards and two scores. Trent Richardson had one of the best games of his career with 14 carries for 77 yards—the team as a whole tallied 171 on a five yards-per-carry average.
Much of the blame falls on the offense. An injured defense was left on the field with Luck for entirely too long as the uninspired offense failed to move the chains. Even if A.J. Green does return for the encounter with Baltimore, things at the most basic of levels need to be addressed if the offense is to mask what is an injured defense.
News and Notes
2 of 5
Jermaine Gresham Trade?
One week removed from being the focal point of the offensive game plan for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Indianapolis Colts, tight end Jermaine Gresham is now the subject of trade talks.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport has the scoop:
"One more who may be available at the right price: #Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham. In a contract year, once Tyler Eifert returns from injury…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 19, 2014"
On one hand, this is not a move the Bengals would typically make, especially not with Gresham's contract set to expire. On the other hand, if the staff is content with just Tyler Eifert at the position and wants to add depth at other places—especially with Marvin Jones out for the year—then the move makes sense.
How it impacts the play on the field this weekend will be quite interesting, to say the least.
Players Rally
Welcome to the most important week of the season for the 2014 Bengals.
The players certainly know it. The team has veteran leaders, but even most of the younger players have multiple playoff games under their belt at this point, so the shutout last week has drawn notable reactions from the players, including Andrew Whitworth, as captured by ESPN.com's Coley Harvey:
"Too much is made of guys standing up in a meeting. A lot of times to me, that comes more off as one guy entitling himself like he's not the problem. It's more about us putting away whether we think we play good or don't play good and saying, 'Who can I help to make the entire team better?' Whatever we can do to make us all better, that's all we need.
"
Right now, this is the reaction that fans should want to hear from the roster. Things have been bad since the bye and key players are hurt, but there are leaders in place who can rally the young team. Cliche or not, the Bengals are responding, although the next step is to do it on the field through execution.
Injuries Are No Excuse
Let's stick with the same beat for a moment, because there has been a common theme in Cincinnati over the course of the past week—no excuses.
Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson was asked earlier this week if the loss to the Colts could be blamed on injuries to key players such as A.J. Green.
“Can’t do it. Won’t do it,” Jackson said, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “I don't think that’s really the direction to go. Regardless who is out there playing, I get paid to coach, and our players get paid to play. We get paid to win. At the end of the day we have to figure out how to win with who we have.”
The blame game does no good at this point. Jackson and the rest of the staff will look to have better plans in place this week against Baltimore to best use the available talent, and the pressure of execution falls on the players.
Injury Report
3 of 5
| Player | Position | Injury Status |
| Leon Hall | CB | Questionable |
| Rey Maualuga | LB | Questionable |
| Vontaze Burfict | LB | Questionable |
| A.J. Green | WR | Questionable |
Once again, the Cincinnati Bengals appear to be at a hefty disadvantage thanks to injuries. Things are especially drab on the defensive side of the ball as the team heads into a contest with a high-powered offense.
*All injury reports are from ESPN.com. This slide will be updated when the official report is released.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
4 of 5
Owen Daniels vs. Cincinnati Bengals Defense
Look, this is getting repetitive, right?
Until the Cincinnati Bengals can properly defend tight ends, the drum will continue to get beaten, as the opposition sure understands where the unit struggles.
Paul Guenther's defense was at it again last week against the Indianapolis Colts, allowing four catches for 64 yards to Coby Fleener. Dwayne Allen did even more damage with three catches for 52 yards and a score.
Now, Baltimore Ravens tight end Owen Daniels is no Dennis Pitta (who caught 10 passes for 83 yards in the first meeting between the two teams), but he did catch six passes for 58 yards and a score last week in a win over Atlanta.
Steve Smith and Torrey Smith are obvious threats on the outside, but it is Daniels who can do the most damage to this Cincinnati defense, especially in the red zone. If the issues are not addressed quickly, Daniels may hurt the Bengals more than anyone at the position has so far this season.
Bengals Linebackers vs. Ravens Running Backs
A strength of the Cincinnati defense in past years is suddenly a major weakness that opposing offenses can take advantage of with relative ease.
In fact, the Bengals now rank among the league's absolute worst in terms of rushing yards allowed per game.
Oddly enough, this trend was on full display in Week 1 against these Ravens, even if most did not realize it at the time. Backup Justin Forsett found room for 70 yards and a score on just 11 carries.
Last week alone, the Bengals surrendered 171 rushing yards and a score in total. Not only does Forsett pose a serious threat to the Bengals on every down but he is complemented by Bernard Pierce and Lorenzo Taliaferro, which has helped the Ravens to rank among the top 10 rushing teams this season.
The Cincinnati linebackers, regardless of who is and is not healthy and in the lineup, will need to step up in a big way. It does not help that the line up front has been mostly mediocre this season, but the blame will still hit the linebacking corps if Forsett and others can routinely hit the second and third levels.
X-Factor of the Week: Mohamed Sanu
Regardless of A.J. Green's status, the pressure of the offense will once again fall on the shoulders of Mohamed Sanu.
The Rutgers product was mostly a non-factor last week, especially considering he committed several drops. Some of those came on key third downs, too, which simply cannot happen again if the Cincinnati defense is to stay rested to counter a high-powered Baltimore attack.
Forget the trickery for a moment—Sanu simply needs to reel in the football when Andy Dalton puts it in the right spot.
If not, the Bengals' depleted offense will once again struggle to move the ball on third down and keep drives alive. As we saw last week, that eventually exposes the defense to miserable results.
Prediction
5 of 5
Right now, a Cincinnati Bengals roster that is inching closer to full health does not exactly inspire confidence.
This problem officially comes to a head Sunday in a decisive AFC North battle with the Baltimore Ravens, as Bleacher Report's Andrea Hangst illustrates:
"Bengals should be cooking when everyone comes back from injury. Question is, when will that be? Ravens pulling away. Tie will haunt.
— Andrea Hangst (@FBALL_Andrea) October 19, 2014"
Right now, the Bengals have one of the worst overall defenses in the NFL. Not only will the unit struggle with Owen Daniels, but receivers on the outside such as Steve Smith and Torrey Smith will find room to operate if the Cincinnati defensive line continues to generate inconsistent pressure.
Offensively, if drops and erratic protection crop up once more, the Bengals will quickly be forced into a one-dimensional attack on the ground. That is not a desirable result against a top-10 run defense.
This one may bleed into a bit of a shootout, which at this point is not something the Bengals can keep up with, thanks to injuries.
Prediction: Ravens 30, Bengals 27
Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
