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BALTIMORE RAVENS vs. CINCINNATI BENGALS BETTING PREDICTION
The Ravens posted an incredibly promising start to the season, as Baltimore barreled out to an impressive 9-4 run in their first 13 contests, while generating 27+ points on the offensive side of the ball in five of those outings, and defensively, holding their opponent to 20 points or less in seven of them.However, they’ve been without Lamar Jackson for six weeks now, and this is a completely different squad in the absence of their star quarterback, highlighted by the Ravens’ offense averaging just 12.5 PPG across their latest 3-3 stretch.
Depending on how you view it, though, that’s a very encouraging notion for the Ravens, considering they still managed to produce a .500 split across their latest six-game stretch, despite scoring 17 points or less in all six of those affairs.
Unfortunately, 17 points isn’t enough to top this Cincinnati squad in most cases. The Bengals have averaged over 28 PPG across their last 11 contests, which now includes a 27-point performance against Baltimore in Week 18.
But in their first matchup of the year against Baltimore, Joe Burrow and co. didn’t have it so easy, as the Ravens managed to escape with a 19-17 victory in a contest the Bengals gained just 291 yards in.
And quite frankly, they weren’t very good the second time around either, considering Cincy generated 27 points on just 257 total yards thanks to four Ravens’ turnovers in last week’s contest.
If Jon Harbaugh’s squad finds a way to win this game, I’ll be totally stunned. But the Ravens have now held their opponent to less than 17 points in seven of their last nine matchups, which makes it very difficult to beat this team by a wide margin.
So, instead of laying double-digits with Cincy here, your safest bet is probably the ‘under.’ The only way this contest stays remotely competitive, is on the heels of a strong defensive performance from Baltimore, which should be on the table after holding the Bengals’ offense to less than 295 total yards in both regular season matchups between these division rivals.
Score Prediction: Bengals 23, Ravens 13
Best Bet: Under 40.5 (-110)