The Cincinnati Bengals’ season is rapidly circling the drain after yet another heartbreaking loss and major injuries to key stars. Things won’t get any easier when they travel to face the Baltimore Ravens, who are fighting to hold on to first place in the AFC North.
Bengals vs. Ravens: Start time, TV schedule for Week 12 matchup online
The Ravens are trying to keep first place in the division. The Bengals are just trying to keep their season alive.
Cincinnati entered Week 11 at 3-5-1 and already had its back against the wall. The team’s prospects went from bad to worse when star receiver A.J. Green suffered a hamstring injury on the second play of the game against the Buffalo Bills. Without their best receiver in the lineup, the Bengals limped to a 16-12 loss, dropping them to 3-6-1. They got even more bad news after the game, when it was announced that running back Giovani Bernard tore his ACL and is done for the year.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Green had a torn hamstring, which would surely end his season. However, head coach Marvin Lewis said that Green only had a strain and expects him to return this year. Regardless, Green is definitely out for Week 12 and the Bengals offense will struggle in his absence. To compound matters, veteran receiver Brandon LaFell is missing practice time with a knee injury. Cincy was already in big trouble with just three wins in 11 weeks. Now Andy Dalton will have even more on his shoulders without some of his most important playmakers.
The Ravens have been as streaky as any team in the league this season. After starting the year 3-0, they quickly erased that hot beginning with four straight losses. The team rallied with a two-game winning streak before falling to the Dallas Cowboys last week. Now sitting at 5-5, if the Ravens win Sunday, they will stay on top of the AFC North. They do own a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 6-5 after their Thanksgiving night win over the Colts, so Baltimore’s margin for error is perilously thin. The Week 16 rematch between Pittsburgh and Baltimore looms as a potential division-clinching game.
The Ravens had a competitive game against Dallas, with their defense doing enough to keep Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott quiet as they went into halftime tied at 10. Unfortunately, the offense continued its struggles from previous weeks, and Dez Bryant broke the game open with two touchdown catches in the second half, leading to a 27-17 victory for the Cowboys.
The bright side for Baltimore’s offense is that Steve Smith looks fully back. Since returning from injury in Week 9, Smith has 17 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns in his past three games, grabbing his 1,000th career reception against the Cowboys last week. Even the running game showed signs of life, with Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon combing for 82 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries against Dallas.
Baltimore is a flawed team, but the defense (second in yards allowed per game; fifth in points allowed per game) is keeping the Ravens in games more often than not. Whether that helps them fend off the Steelers down the stretch remains to be seen, but at least they’re in a much better spot than the Bengals.
How to watch
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Place: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
TV: CBS
Announcers: Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts, Evan Washburn
Online: Sunday Ticket
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