Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens
Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, and the Cincinnati Bengals will start the 2014 regular season with a tough road game at M&T Bank Stadium against Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens. Projections have the AFC North as a tightly contested division this season, making this a key game for both sides to open their respective schedules.
Details for Sunday’s game are below:
Date: Sunday, Sept. 7
Start Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Stadium: M&T Bank Stadium
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket
Radio: NFL Audio Pass
Ticket Information: For Bengals ticket info click here. For Ravens ticket info click here.
Keys to Victory
The Ravens will have a new look on offense this season with former Houston Texans’ head coach Gary Kubiak taking over as offensive coordinator. Their first two games of regular season action in that system will be without running back Ray Rice, who is suspended for a domestic violence incident this past off-season.
Baltimore struggled to score enough points in 2013, with a truly awful season from the offensive line that made the Ravens the worst running team in the NFL. Can they turn things around on that side of the ball this season?
As for the Bengals, they have made their money on the defensive side of the ball the last few seasons. There is some concern about how things will look now with the departure of star coordinator Mike Zimmer, now the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. The tales of that unit’s potential demise might be overstated, however, especially with the return of stud defensive tackle Geno Atkins.
For all the talk about Dalton and his new contract, the state of the Bengals will be determined by the state of that defense in Week 1 and beyond.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Ravens -2
Moneyline: Ravens -135, Bengals +115
O/U: 43
Prediction
Do you have more faith in Andy Dalton or Joe Flacco? That is the kind of question no reasonable person should ever have to answer.
Ultimately Dalton has more weapons than Flacco, whose offense will be without Rice in this game. Dalton might be a frustrating quarterback, but on most days he can chuck it up to Green and hand it off to Giovani Bernard enough for the Bengals to win a game, especially opposite a relatively punch-less offense like the Ravens.
Baltimore is still in the process of transitioning to Kubiak’s system; their offense might be humming under his watch eventually, but not in Week 1. As such, Cincinnati will stifle Baltimore’s offense and pull out a key road victory to open their 2014 season.
Final Score: Bengals 24, Ravens 10