This weekend there are a few must watch games on the NFL schedule and when The Cincinnati Bengals (9-6) square off with the Baltimore Ravens (11-4) in front of a sellout crowd at Paul Brown Stadium this is one of them. It has been quite a long time since the Bengals have played such an important regular season game. If they win, they are in the playoffs. That task won’t be easy. They need to win against a team that has already clinched a playoff berth, their AFC North division rival the Ravens.
Cincinnati and Baltimore were viewed very differently before season start by experts and fans everywhere. Baltimore was expected to contend for the Super Bowl, Cincinnati on the other hand was expected to contend for not a playoff berth but a very high draft pick, maybe even the first overall pick. What everyone didn’t realize was that Cincinnati’s defense has played lights out and their rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and rookie receiver AJ Green have played just as impressively.
The Bengals used their 4th overall pick in last year’s draft to take Green whom most thought would complement Chad Ochocinco and be the teams 2nd wide out. Some questioned using such a high pick on a receiver when the team had other blaring needs. In the second round Cincinnati drafted Dalton after he had a record breaking career at TCU. Although he put up impressive numbers in college leading the horn frogs to multiple bowl games a lot of people questioned if he could play at the NFL level. Bengal fans had no idea what would happen with Carson Palmer at the time and figured Dalton would be a be a pretty good NFL starting quarterback, or at least that’s what people thought. By the start of the 2011 NFL season Ochocinco was traded to the patriots and a few weeks into thr season Palmer was traded to the Raiders. With the departure’s of both pro bowl players Green and Dalton would have to step up and fill some big shoes, and they haven’t disapointed.
Dalton and Green have been very good this year and have proved all of their naysayers wrong. Dalton has thrown for over 3100 yards up to this point and a third of that total has been directed towards Green who has 1031 receiving yards this season. The two have connected 63 times (Green has missed a few games due to injury) and scored seven times thus far. Both have very respectable numbers this season and have done exactly what a coach wants to see out of a rookie. Green and Dalton have made few mistakes and have continually gotten better as the season has gone on.
Although Green and Dalton have played very well the main reason the Bengals are playing for a playoff spot can be credited to their defense. The Bengals are allowing only 19.9 points per game (9th in NFL) 314.2 total yards (6th in the NFL) and only 96.9 rushing yards against (5th in NFL). Linebacker’s Thomas Howard and Rey Maualuga have locked up the middle of the field and shut down opposing tight end’s and running backs all year making opposing offenses more one dimensional than any team would like. With members of the secondary like Nate Clements and Reggie Nelson having solid seasons the defense top to bottom has played very well leading the Bengals to the position they are in.
Like the Bengals, the Ravens pride themselves on very solid defense that can single handedly win a football team games. The Ravens are in the top 5 in the NFL in almost every defensive statistical category making them one of the best defenses in the league without question. One of the reasons they are so good is because of a core nucleus of players who have been in Baltimore together for years such as Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed. These big names have lived up to big expectations year in and year out, consistently having one of the best and meanest defenses in the league. Any fan knows the phrase “Defense wins championships” and although it has been over 10 years since Baltimore have won a Super Bowl, their defense is aging. this could be one of their best opportunities in a long time to go far into the Playoffs.
Although “defense wins championships” both sides of the Ball are very important and the Ravens have a good offense to complement their unbelievable defense. Over the last few years Ray Rice has emerged as one of the league’s elite running backs. Not only does rice have over 1100 yards rushing along with 10 touchdowns on the ground this season, but he also leads the teams in receptions with 74 for almost 700 yards and 3 additional touchdowns. It’s no question that the offensive scheme is centered on Rice, but 4th year quarterback Joe Flacco has also played well. He is plus 7 in the all-important turnover differential. On a team with such an elite back and defense Flacco does exactly what he has to do to win games, doesn’t turn the ball over and limits his mistakes. Although Flacco doesn’t get a lot of credit his numbers this season are very good with 19 touchdowns and almost 3500 passing yards giving him a passer rating of about 80.
This game is huge for the Bengals, and game is important to the Ravens as well. Don’t expect to see the Ravens sitting players because they already have a playoff spot locked up, with a win and a little help they can still win the AFC North and earn an all-important first round bye. This matchup is a fans dream of a game, two stud defenses and a team that’s fighting for their lives to make the playoffs and a team that’s fighting to make their super bowl run a little easier. With a rare sellout crowd in Cincinnati the Bengals could have an added boost and home field advantage that they haven’t had in weeks past, adding to an already talented team that can be quite a scary thought. But you do have to remember the Ravens are one of the elite teams in the NFL for a reason and this isn’t an easy victory for either team. Regardless of the outcome this will be a great game and fans everywhere will be in for a treat at 4:15 Sunday and will be the perfect way to ring in the New Year.
