Another extended and crazy NFL 2022 Sunday concludes with the Sunday Night Football which this week takes us to the AFC North as the Baltimore Ravens welcome the current AFC champions Cincinnati Bengals.
These two sides are both 2-2 for the season and having more questions to answer than they would have wanted at this stage of the year. This primetime clash could be one which determines who will control the division moving forward.
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are 2-2 for the season but there is a genuine argument to be made that they should be 4-0 for it. Their two defeats came in an epic collapse against the Miami Dolphins and then against the Buffalo Bills last week where they churned a simple field goal attempt to go ahead in the match late on and paid the ultimate price. The other two matches saw them beat the New York Jets and the New England Patriots so it is questionable what they beat in those games.
The positive for the Ravens is that despite all the contract issues with Lamar Jackson, their quarterback has started the season at MVP level in terms of production. Where there is a concern, aside from the strange calls from John Harbaugh on the sideline, is their defence which hasn’t been quite as tight as we have come to expect from a Ravens defence. They have conceded at least 23 points in their last three matches which probably isn’t a long-term winning combination.
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Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals have had an up and down beginning to their season. That probably should be termed down and up because they lost their opening two matches and then have won their last two to make it 2-2 for the year. To be fair to the Bengals, although it looked like they were undergoing a Super Bowl hangover at the start of the campaign, their two losses was by a field goal on each occasion. Their wins have been more emphatic although they were helped in the win over Miami last Thursday by the injuries the Dolphins picked up.
The Bengals have struggled to establish a run game this season but you sense they are going to need to come good in that department because otherwise their offensive line is going to be under a lot of pressure. They have already struggled to keep Joe Burrow upright in the early part of this campaign and they don’t need their quarterback to pick up an injury. Cincinnati also need to get Ja’Marr Chase to light up a little as well.
Betting
Joe Mixon hasn’t pulled up any trees so far this season but there was a clear intent for the Cincinnati Bengals to give him the ball and try and get him into the game last week and off the back of a long week where they will have been able to work on run plays a lot more I expect to see plenty of the running back for the AFC champions. Utilising him on the road in a hostile environment doesn’t just keep the Baltimore Ravens’ pass rush at bay but it also keeps Lamar Jackson off the field.
Mixon hasn’t really delivered the goods this year but neither has the Ravens’ run defence and with Cincinnati having three genuine receiving targets to cover it might be that the lesser of the evils is to allow the run and stop the pass, after all that will kill Baltimore quicker than the run. Although Mixon’s production hasn’t been great on the ground this season he has covered a 60 yard rushing yards line twice in the four matches and been three yards short in another match. He covered it once against the Ravens last season and was a yard shy on just 12 carries in the other game. He should get plenty more than a dozen touches here so I like the over.
Tips
Back J.Mixon – Over 60 rushing yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with BetVictor
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