OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens didn’t have much time to celebrate an impressive win over the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.
Their attention had to quickly shift to Sunday’s AFC North opener on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Ravens were also trying to stay grounded after the 35-10 victory over Buffalo that evened their record to 2-2.
“I think it says a lot, but at the same time, we didn’t win a Super Bowl,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “So, we have to come out [against] the Bengals next week in a division game, going on the road. [It’s] a big win for us today, but we have to move forward to next week. It’s only Week 4, and we’re trying to get to what we need to get to – [what] we didn’t get to last year – so we have a long road ahead of us, but I think we’re on a good path.”
Cincinnati is 1-3 heading into the showdown against Baltimore. The Ravens and Bengals have had some tough battles over the years and have often battled for AFC North supremacy.
The teams have two of the NFL’s most dynamic, young quarterbacks with Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, who is back after missing the last seven games of the 2023 season with a wrist injury he suffered at M&T Bank Stadium.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh is 17-15 all-time against the Bengals in the regular season. Baltimore swept the two games last season.
However, the Ravens are 4-4, including a 24-17 loss in the 2022-23 AFC wild-card game, in their last eight games at Cincinnati. Harbaugh expects another tough challenge.
The Ravens are favored by 2 1/2 points.
“We’ve gone [to Cincinnati]… It’s a tough environment to play in,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a very different environment, and [the Bengals] are just a very competitive team, and they’ve got a lot of great players. Anything can happen.”
