How freakin' insane is Monday Night Football going to be this week? These teams square off at 7 p.m. EST and there's major fantasy shootout that follows at 10:15 p.m. EST. By the time this one's done, I'll be frothing at the mouth, for sure. Both teams should have no trouble getting up for this game, which has turned out to be a nice little fledgling rivalry, because at the end of the year, it could be the deciding game on who gets into the playoffs. And if anything decides games like this, it's an untimely turnover. Look for McNair to cough it up a couple more times than Palmer and show us again just how old he's getting. Heck, I can even see a Matt Stover field goal tying it up and a big Carson Palmer throw setting up a winning FG.
Predicted Score: Bengals 34, Ravens 27
Fantasy Focus Baltimore: Steve McNair isn't the player he once was, despite being in a system that's tailor-made for him to prosper. But you'll see Heap and McGahee be effective performers and if Mark Clayton's healthy enough by game time, he'll produce as well. From a team defense perspective, it might be a good week to stay away from the Ravens, although IDP options remain in full effect. The Ravens just aren't as explosive as they once were - Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are getting along in years and they lost Adalius Thomas to the Pats.
Start: Todd Heap, Willis McGahee, Mark Clayton, Matt Stover
Consider: Steve McNair, Derrick Mason
Sit: Demetrius Williams
Cincinnati: The Bengals offensive unit benefits from an aging Baltimore defense, although Terrell Suggs could force Palmer into some mistakes. I have some concerns about the offensive line, but the Bengals offense was excellent at making adjustments last season and producing in the second half when they needed to. If there's somebody to sit, it's Rudi Johnson, who has struggled to make yards versus Baltimore in the past. The Ravens secondary can be beat, but it takes a structured attack and some serious plodding in the first half before they loosen up.
Start: Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rudi Johnson
Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game
through Weeks 12 to 17 of the 2006 season after deducting the best
and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per
pass completion, yards per pass attempt and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on
totals through Weeks 12 to 17 with no adjustment.
Defense Stats Comparison
BAL Defense
CIN Defense
NFL Average
Points against
9.3
16.0
21.1
Rushing yards
59.3
94.8
123.7
Rushing yards per attempt
3.51
3.99
4.30
Completion %
56.9%
64.1%
60.0%
Passing yards
180.3
210.0
201.8
Passing yards per completion
9.07
10.03
10.67
Passing yards per attempt
5.16
6.43
6.40
INT return
2.0
0.8
1.1
Fumble recoveries
0.8
1.0
0.7
Sacks
4.8
2.3
2.2
Weather
Check the current weather forecast for Cincinnati from Weather.com.
Team vs. Team History
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Season
Week
Date
Vis
Home
Score
Winner
2000
4
2000-09-24
CIN
BAL
0-37
BAL
2000
10
2000-11-05
BAL
CIN
27-7
BAL
2001
2
2001-09-23
BAL
CIN
10-21
CIN
2001
15
2001-12-23
CIN
BAL
0-16
BAL
2002
10
2002-11-10
CIN
BAL
27-38
BAL
2002
13
2002-12-01
BAL
CIN
27-23
BAL
2003
7
2003-10-19
BAL
CIN
26-34
CIN
2003
14
2003-12-07
CIN
BAL
13-31
BAL
2004
3
2004-09-26
BAL
CIN
23-9
BAL
2004
13
2004-12-05
CIN
BAL
27-26
CIN
2005
9
2005-11-06
CIN
BAL
21-9
CIN
2005
12
2005-11-27
BAL
CIN
29-42
CIN
2006
9
2006-11-05
CIN
BAL
20-26
BAL
2006
13
2006-11-30
BAL
CIN
7-13
CIN
Note: Only playoff games from the
2004 and 2005 seasons are included in the team vs. team history.
Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.
