OWINGS MILLS — Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith didn’t mince words when talking about the team’s mindset heading into the AFC North opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
“It’s a highly anticipated game,” he said. “It’s a division game, at the end of the day, and we know how much these games mean, in a sense. And truth be told, [the Bengals] don’t like us, and we don’t like them, so it’s one of those type [of] things. We’re just going to go out and play our game, and it’s going to be a good game, so I’m excited for the matchup.”
The Ravens and Bengals have had some memorable heated games the past several years.
The most meaningful matchup occurred on January 15th, 2023, in an AFC wild-card game. With Lamar Jackson sidelined, Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley largely outplayed Joe Burrow and the Bengals. However, as the Ravens were poised for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, Huntley fumbled on the goal line trying to extend his arm into the end zone. Instead, the ball popped into the hands of Cincinnati defensive end Sam Hubbard, who ran for a 98-yard touchdown, and the Bengals escaped with a 24-17 victory.
On November 18th, 2018, Jackson shook off a stomachache and insomnia and made his first start at quarterback, running for 117 yards. Jackson also completed 13 of 19 passes for 150 yards with an interception in the Ravens’ 24-21 victory, which snapped a three-game losing streak and helped pave the way for the postseason.
The following year, Jackson had one of the best highlight plays of his career when he did a spin move in the open field against a gang of Bengals defenders and ran 47 yards for a touchdown. The Ravens went on to win that game, 49-13.
The Bengals managed to knock the Ravens out of the playoffs in the regular-season finale on December 31st, 2017. Cincinnati scored the game-winning touchdown with 44 seconds left when quarterback Andy Dalton found wide receiver Tyler Boyd for a 49-yard score on a fourth-and-12 tht stunned the sellout crowd at M&T Bank Stadium.
Overall, the Ravens lead the series, 30-16. Coach John Harbaugh is 17-15 against Cincinnati in the regular season and swept the season series last year.
“[The Bengals], obviously, have been good for a while, with Burrow [and] the offensive weapons that they have,” Smith said. “And then, even from the defensive side of the ball, they’ve got some really good players over there – a former [Ravens] player in Geno [Stone] and whatnot. So, I’ve got mad respect for those guys, but at the end of the day, it’s a game that has to be played, and I play for the Baltimore Ravens, and we’ve got to play [the] Ravens’ style of football.”
