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Bengals Face Ravens In A Week 5 Showdown

Since 2010, 14 of the teams’ 19 meetings have been one-score decisions, by eight or fewer points.
Since 2010, 14 of the teams’ 19 meetings have been one-score decisions, by eight or fewer points.

Kickoff: 1 p.m. Eastern.

Television: The game will air on CBS-TV. In the Bengals' home region, it will be carried by WKRC-TV (Ch. 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Ch. 7) in Dayton and on WKYT-TV (Ch. 27) in Lexington. Broadcasters are Greg Gumbel (play-by-play), Rich Gannon (analyst) and Amanda Balionis (reporter).

Radio: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

A look back at one of the best rivalries in the AFC North. Bengals versus Ravens. Images from the storied series.

Setting the scene: The Bengals this week travel to Baltimore to take on the division-rival Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Last week, Cincinnati earned its first victory of the season with a 33-25 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paul Brown Stadium.

"We feel a lot of momentum right now about where we are," said Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who won his first NFL game. "Obviously there are some things to fix, but we had a great week of practice this week, and I think that's why we won the game."

Burrow and the Bengals' offense stole the show against Jacksonville by posting 500 yards of offense, including 205 on the ground and 300 through the air. It was just the fourth time in team history, and the first since the 1988 season, that the Bengals recorded at least 200 rushing yards and 300 passing yards in a game.

The most noteworthy performance of the day came from Mixon, who scored three TDs — on a nine-yard reception, and runs of 34 and 23 yards. Mixon became the first Bengal since Giovani Bernard in 2013 to score both a rushing and receiving TD in the same game. He also posted a season-high 181 yards from scrimmage against the Jaguars, including 151 on the ground and 30 through the air.

After the game, Mixon, whose game status was changed to 'questionable' on Saturday due to a chest injury, revealed that he spent part of Saturday evening in the hospital.

"I think I slept wrong (on Friday)," Mixon said. "It was like I couldn't breathe, and it hurt to run in walk-through (on Saturday). I didn't know if I would play, so (Sunday) morning I wanted to see how I felt. The doctors loved up on me, and I was able to go out there and make some things work."

Burrow also put together a strong performance, and passed for an even 300 yards. That made him the first rookie in league history to record three consecutive games with at least 300 passing yards. Additionally, Burrow's 116 completions so far this season are the most ever by a QB — rookie or veteran — in their first four NFL starts.

This week, Cincinnati faces a stiff test in a Baltimore team that boasts the NFL's reigning MVP in QB Lamar Jackson.

Baltimore enters Sunday's game at 3-1, after a 31-17 win over Washington last week.

The series: Baltimore leads the series, 25-23. Here are some series notes:

  • When Cincinnati took a 23-22 series lead in Week 2 last season, it was the first time the Bengals had led the series since after the first of two meetings of 1998, when they were up 3-2. That lead didn't last long, however, as the Ravens now have won three straight and recaptured a two-game advantage.
  • The Ravens' sweep last season was their first season sweep over the Bengals since 2011. The Bengals' most recent sweep of the Ravens was in 2015.
  • It hasn't been an easy series for the visiting team. The Ravens lead 16-8 in Baltimore, and the Bengals lead 15-9 in Cincinnati.
  • Since 2010, 14 of the teams' 19 meetings have been one-score decisions, by eight or fewer points.

Turnover margin is key vs. Ravens: In the 37 all-time Bengals-Ravens meetings in which the turnover differential has not been even (1995-present), the team who wins the turnover battle has posted a 32-5 record. Putting it another way, the Bengals are 14-3 against the Ravens with a plus turnover differential, and 2-18 with a minus. Looking at it from Baltimore's point of view, the Ravens are 18-2 with a plus and 3-14 with a minus. Cincinnati leads 7-4 in games against Baltimore in which the turnover margin was even.

Bengals-Ravens connections: Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is from Perrysburg, Ohio, played defensive back at Miami (Ohio) University, and coached at Morehead State (1988) and the University of Cincinnati ('89-96) ... Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban was on the Bengals' coaching staff from 2011-17 ...Bengals LB Josh Bynes originally was a college free agent signee of the Ravens in 2011. He was with Baltimore from 2011-14, and then again in '19.Ravens WR/RS Chris Moore and DE Derek Wolfe both played at the University of Cincinnati ... Ravens DT Brandon Williams attended prep school for one year at Harmony Community School in Cincinnati... Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins and LB Malik Harrison both played at Ohio State University; Harrison is from Columbus, Ohio (Walnut Ridge High School) ...Ravens QB Lamar Jackson played at the University of Louisville ... Ravens LB L.J. Fort was on the Bengals' practice squad in 2014 ... Ravens C/G Matt Skura is from Columbus, Ohio (Worthington Kilbourne High School) ... Bengals LB Keandre Jones (practice squad) is from Olney, Md. (Good Counsel High School), and played at the University of Maryland ... Ravens TE Eli Wolf (practice squad) is from Minster, Ohio (Minster High School) ... Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons entered NFL coaching with the Ravens in 1998 ... Bengals senior defensive assistant Mark Duffner was the head coach at the University of Maryland from 1992-96 ...Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale is from Dayton, Ohio, played at Defiance College from 1981-84, and coached at Defiance ('86-87) and the University of Cincinnati ('96-98) ... Ravens pass defense coordinator Chris Hewitt played defensive back at the University of Cincinnati from 1993-96 ... Ravens assistant defensive backs coach Jesse Minter attended Mount Saint Joseph University and coached at the University of Cincinnati from 2007-09 ... Ravens senior assistant/running backs coach Craig Ver Steeg coached at the University of Cincinnati 1990-93 ... Ravens assistant special teams coach T.J. Weist coached at the University of Cincinnati from 2010-13.

Burrow already making history: Not only has Bengals rookie QB Joe Burrow turned heads with his playmaking ability so far this season, his stats rank among the best ever by a first-time starting QB. His 116 completions so far are the most in NFL history by any QB through their first four games. His 177 passing attempts are tied with former Colts QB Andrew Luck for the second-most through a QB's first four games, behind Mike Glennon (181). And his 1121 passing yards are seventh-most in NFL history in that same category.

Burrow's attempts and completions totals this season both rank second in the NFL, behind Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (201 and 137). His passing yardage total ranks 10th.

300 x 3 = rookie record for Burrow: Bengals QB Joe Burrow now stands as the only rookie QB in NFL history to ever throw for 300 yards in three consecutive games. He hit the mark in Game 2 at Cleveland (316), Game 3 at Philadelphia (312) and Game 4 vs. Jacksonville (300). Colts QB Andrew Luck holds the NFL record for most 300-yard passing games by a rookie, with six in 2012. Andy Dalton holds the Bengals' record for most consecutive 300-yard passing games, with four (Games 6-9 in 2013). The team record for most 300- yard passing games in a season is five, accomplished in 2013 by Dalton, '07 by Carson Palmer, and the strike-shortened 1987 season by Boomer Esiason.

Mixon picking up steam: Bengals HB Joe Mixon this season ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing yards (315) and tied for seventh in yards from scrimmage (403). The fourth-year pro had a break-out game on Oct. 4 vs. Jacksonville, when he recorded season-highs in rushing yards (151) and yards from scrimmage (181). Both of those totals stand as the most by any AFC player so far this season. Mixon also scored a career-high three TDs against the Jaguars — on a nine-yard catch, and runs of 34 and 23 yards. That made him the first Bengal since Giovani Bernard in 2013 to record a rushing and receiving TD in the same game (9-16-13 vs. Pittsburgh).

According to NFL's Next Gen Stats, the 220-pound Mixon reached 21.19 MPH on his 34-yard TD run against the Jaguars. That counts as the fastest speed by a Cincinnati ball-carrier this season, and the fifth-fastest by a Bengal since NGS began tracking speeds in 2016.

Boyd looking for his third thousand: Bengals WR Tyler Boyd this season looks to become just the fourth Cincinnati pass-catcher to record three consecutive 1000-yard seasons. He would join WRs Chad Johnson (six consecutive; 2002-07), A.J. Green (five; '11-15) and Carl Pickens (three; 1994-96).

Through four games, Boyd has a team-high 320 yards (on 28 catches), a pace that projects out to 1280 yards over a full 16-game slate. Boyd topped the 1000-yard mark in both 2018 and '19, despite his running mate, Green, playing just nine of 32 possible games over that stretch. Last season, he finished with a career-high and team-best 1046 receiving yards (on 90 catches), which slightly bested his '18 total of 1028 yards (on 76 catches) Boyd stands as one of nine Bengals ever to reach 1000 receiving yards in a season, and one of six to hit the mark more than once. Johnson's seven 1000-yard seasons stand as the most in team history, followed by Green (six), Pickens (four), WR Cris Collinsworth (four) and WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (two). WRs Eddie Brown, Tim McGee and Darnay Scott each had one 1000-yard season.

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