Joe Burrow, the NFL's first draft pick of the 2020s, knows his AFC North history. Until last year when Mike Tomlin's final Steelers team survived as the only winning team in the division, either Burrow (two AFC North titles) or Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (three) have carried the day in this decade of North football.
So it gives you an idea of how the Bengals are viewing this one. It's big. Try huge. In Burrow's eyes, Sunday in Baltimore (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) is all about history as the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns all sit at 4-2 with the Bengals at 3-2.
"We don't want to be 0-2 in the division. That's certainly not a place of comfort," Burrow said after Monday's practice. "We want to be 4-2 and controlling our own destiny, and it really starts this week. Really, recently, I'd say outside of last year, it's gone through Baltimore, and we want to get this one to set the rest of the season up right."
Trey Ball
Former Bengals sack ace Trey Hendrickson has never sacked Burrow.
He didn't during Burrow's rookie year because the Saints didn't play the Bengals. He didn't during the previous five seasons Hendrickson racked up 61 sacks as a Bengal, second most among NFL edgers behind only Myles Garrett. Burrow knows Hendrickson is just foaming at the mouth to add him to his trophy case.
"I got to practice with him for a long time. I'm sure he's excited to hit me after not hitting me for so long," Burrow said. "He's the same player. He's going to win in a multitude of ways and affect the game, and you've got to try to put people near him and affect his rush ability, or he's going to get it."
The Bengals are keeping it pretty close to the vest after Hendrickson's tumultuous final days as a Bengal. Head coach Zac Taylor called him "a good player," and Burrow called his run in Cincinnati, "productive." Earlier in the week, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., said he helped him during his career as a training camp foe and that he'll be his friend after he retires.
Hendrickson (finger) surfaced on the injury report Wednesday, but he went full, and there is no one at Paycor that thinks the Bengals are going to get anything less than his relentless, all-out style that fueled two AFC North championship defenses.
And it looks as if Hendrickson is keeping it just as close, according to Ravens defensive tackle Calais Campbell in Baltimore Wednesday.
"I would like to put him in position to be able to make some plays and be able to have some success against his old team. I would like him to be able to have a day where they miss him," said Campbell in quotes distributed by the Ravens. "That's kind of what you want when you're a player in this league. You go back and play against an old team, especially a team that you kind of wanted to stay at, and it just didn't work out financially and stuff.
"If it were me, I'd be thinking like I'm (going to) make them regret it. But I know Trey's just a whole different kind of guy; he keeps his cards close to his chest. But just knowing football and how this thing works, I want to give him as many opportunities as possible. So, I told him, 'I got your back. However you want to rush, I'll play off you. Go make your plays.'"
What's Cook-ing
Safety Bran Cook is a key man Sunday. His Chiefs beat the Ravens in each of the last two seasons.
(And, by the way, he is preparing for quarterback Lamar Jackson and not backup Tyler Huntley.
"I can watch the film and get ahead on the guy behind him," Cook said. "But right now, the heartbeat of this team is through him, and so we have to focus on him.")
Cook calls Ravens running back Derrick Henry "a freight train running around out there," and Jackson "the human joy stick."
Jackson (ankle) has missed the last two games, but went limited Wednesday, and Henry has been on a tear on his path toward Canton. The Browns held Henry to a season-low 58 yards last Sunday, the first time this season he's had fewer than 75 scrimmage yards and no touchdowns.
There's no question what the Ravens are doing. The 6-3, 252-pound Henry leads the NFL with 130 carries and has the fourth most yards, needing 111 to pass Hall-of-Famer Jerome Bettis into eighth on the all-time list.
Cook has had success against them.
When Kansas City beat the Ravens in the 2024 opener, 27-20, Cook had six tackles and played every snap in a game Henry had 46 yards on 13 carries. Cook also made a huge play in the last minute when he contested what would have been Jackson's tying touchdown pass as he defended tight end Isaiah Likely in the end zone.
Last season, the Chiefs won, 37-20, as Henry had eight carries for 42 yards, and Cook had six more tackles. Cook says it won't be just him as he looks at the three-leading tacklers on the team: linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, and safety Jordan Battle.
"You have to get him before the second level," Cook said after Wednesday's practice. "That's a grown man out there moving at a high rate and a lot of mass. It's just not me. It's Jordan and D-Knight and BC. It's 11-on-11 and we have to put our hard hats on and be ready to roll."
Jackson and Henry bring much concern about the perimeter, where the Bengals have largely allowed their 155 rush yards per game in their last three outings. Jackson is particularly deadly out there.
"And then he still takes deep shots with accuracy," Cook said. "It comes down to discipline. You have to keep him in the pocket, and you always have to have the ability to plaster (receivers) on the back end. He runs around looking for windows to throw the ball. That said, when he tucks the ball and runs, I've got to get off a block downfield. He has that aspect. He's one of the guys you definitely have to make sure you have the details ironed out."
Slants and Screens
Kicker Evan McPherson heads to Baltimore, site of Shayne Graham's Bengals single-game record of seven field goals, and takes with him his own Bengals' record of 22 straight field goals after breaking Graham's record in Miami last week. Now he can talk about it. He wasn't looking to jinx it.
"Good record to have," McPherson said. "We've been getting more and more consistent in practice, and it's translating into the games." …
McPherson's brother Alex capped Auburn's upset of No. 1 Georgia at Athens with his 34-yarder on the last play, and Evan and his family enjoyed it at a Gulf Coast restaurant during the bye week.
"We were checking on the house after the hurricane," McPherson said. "We went out to eat, and there were some other Auburn fans in there and I was standing up cheering and they were standing up cheering. He said he felt really comfortable standing over the ball. He said he was relaxed, confident. I was glad to hear he wasn't nervous. You don't get a chance to do that very often. Beat the No. 1 team in the country at their place." …
Rookie wide receiver Colbie Young (knee), who has pretty much missed the last three games, was ready to go in Miami last week. But with Ja'Marr Chase (concussion) and Tee Higgins (knee/groin) determined not to miss the game, Young got another week to rest on the inactive list and says he's ready for this Sunday.
"It was a game-time decision and I understood that," Young said. "If they needed me, I could have gone." …
