NFL Week 2: Why the Ravens Will Cruise Past Bengals in Cincinnati

It's often difficult to predict what one team will do after just a week of competition.  The heat that goes along with making an inaccurate prediction is just as difficult to take, unless you have a firm belief in what the end result will be.

Week Two of the NFL features a game that's both pivotal and difficult to predict.  However, this writer has a high degree of certainty on what the outcome will be when the (1-0) Baltimore Ravens face the (0-1) Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium this Sunday.

Kickoff time is set for 1:00 PM, and coming out of the gates, the Ravens will be looking to avenge a season sweep last year at the hands of Carson Palmer and the Bengals.

Talking to other members of this community, I can't help to notice just how much emphasis is put on what teams have done in the past.  Sure the Bengals have won four straight home games against Baltimore under the leadership of Palmer, but that's the past.  I don't care to hear what happened yesterday, as I'm focused on what the Ravens are going to do today.

During the offseason, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison put a tremendous amount of emphasis on reducing the amount of penalties the Ravens' secondary was committing.  A lot of focus was placed on playing with discipline in the secondary, staying with the receiver and not getting beat by the deep ball.

Last Monday's game against the Jets looked to be a product of all the tough offseason work and less about Mark Sanchez's inability to get the ball down the field.  We didn't see a breakdown in coverage all game, which allowed Baltimore to stay in the game and ultimately pull off the win.

How will this carry over into today's game in Cincinnati?

It's very simple when you analyze the matchup.  Baltimore arguably has the best front-seven in the league.  Anchored by Haloti Ngata, this is an defensive line that puts relentless pressure on opposing quarterbacks.  This allows the defensive backs to stay in coverage for a shorter duration of time.  When the Ravens are able to get that necessary pressure, crucial mistakes are made by the opposition.

Carson Palmer is a man at the crossroads of his career.  Palmer has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury going on two years and therefore hasn't looked accurate in that span of time.  As a result, the Bengals have become a run-oriented team led by Cedric Benson.

Benson ran for over 1,200 yards in 2009 and quickly became the anchor of the entire Cincinnati offense.

The Ravens' goal Sunday is to keep the ball in the hands of Benson and force Palmer to make the big plays through the air—something he failed to do against New England in Week One.

If the Ravens want to come away with a very important early-season win, Joe Flacco must display his ability to spread the ball around on offense and avoid costly turnovers.  In last year's series against Cincinnati, Flacco threw four interceptions and one touchdown.  Most of those costly mistakes were made inside the Bengals' red zone.

There's no doubt, however, that Joe Flacco is a changed man.  Surrounded by new weapons with the likes of Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmanzadeh, along with Todd Heap and Ed Dickson (an excellent pass-catching tight end), the Ravens have simply too much firepower for the Bengals' defense to handle.

Along with Flacco's new toys, you have the usual suspect, Ray Rice.  Last year, Rice tallied up a total of 278 all-purpose yards in two games total against Cincinnati.  Rice will see an expanded role today against a softer run defense.  Don't be surprised if Rice manages 150 total yards and two touchdowns if Anquan Boldin is locked-down by top corners Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall.

With all that said, the key to Baltimore's success on offense might very well come down to the old veteran, Derrick Mason.  The wily Mason is a Bengal killer by definition.  He's had success in every matchup against Cincinnati since coming to Baltimore.

Derrick Mason has more touchdowns against the Bengals (eight) than any other team.  Flacco will surely look his way early in the game.

So even with the high-profile acquisition of Terrell Owens, the Bengals won't have enough on offense to counter a Ravens defense that's finally starting to gel after three years under coordinator Greg Mattison.

The Ravens' offense will keep Cincinnati guessing all game.  Too many weapons on offense for Baltimore equals touchdowns on the scoreboard against a much more porous defense than they faced last week in New York.

Taking all of the above into consideration, and not looking at the past, the Ravens should score early in this contest, and never look back.

Final score:  Baltimore 28, Cincinnati 10.

Player of the game will go to Derrick Mason, who should notch 120 yards and a touchdown.

Most importantly, the Ravens will be in the driver's seat in the AFC North, up by two games over the reigning division champs.

Baltimore, for the second week in a row, will prove why they're the favorite pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.