Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals 2018: Prediction, Betting Odds For Thursday Night Football

The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals were two of the most impressive teams in Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season, but they won’t have much time to enjoy their victories. The AFC North rivals will meet just a few days later when they face off in Week 2 on “Thursday Night Football.”

Baltimore heads on the road after having Sunday’s most dominant performance. The Ravens’ 47-3 victory at home over the hapless Buffalo Bills puts them second in points scored and first in points surrendered.

Cincinnati’s first game wasn’t nearly as one-sided, though they did win by double-digits on the road. The Bengals survived a career-high in completions for Andrew Luck by winning 34-23 over the Indianapolis Colts.

The early betting odds have Baltimore favored by 1.5 points in their first road game of the year, according to OddsShark. The over/under is 44.

Week 1 is always difficult to evaluate. What should we take away from the season openers? Were the Ravens just that good or were the Bills just that bad? Did the Bengals simply take advantage of a Colts’ team that doesn’t have a ton of talent outside of a star quarterback?

Baltimore certainly did benefit from playing an awful Buffalo team. Nathan Peterman might be the worst starting quarterback in the league, considering he threw five interceptions in one of his two other career regular-season starts. Josh Allen has plenty of potential but isn’t ready to be a reliable NFL starter yet.

Both Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton were terrific Sunday. Flacco had a 121.7 passer rating, going 25-34 for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Dalton threw one bad interception on Cincinnati’s side of the field, but he completed 21 of his 27 other pass attempts for 243 yards and two scores.

Don’t expect either quarterback to be that good Thursday night.

Dalton’s last home game against the Ravens was a disaster. He threw four interceptions as Baltimore shut out Cincinnati 20-0 in their 2017 opener. The quarterback threw for three touchdowns in Week 17 last season when the Bengals won in Baltimore to keep the Ravens out of the playoffs.

A strong effort from Flacco in Week 1 could mean he’s due for a rough night in Week 2. The quarterback hasn’t put together consecutive games with a passer rating of at least 90.0 since Week 14 of the 2016 season.

Luck had a strong showing Sunday, but he didn’t embarrass Cincinnati’s secondary by any means. Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins and linebacker Nick Vigil, who led the Bengals with 11 tackles, should give Baltimore’s offensive line more trouble than they dealt with against Buffalo.

Marvin Lewis and the Bengals have had their share of success against the Ravens in recent seasons. In their last nine contests with Baltimore, Cincinnati is 7-2 straight up 6-3 against the spread, per OddsShark.

Cincinnati has better playmakers than Baltimore. A.J. Green will be the best wide receiver on the field Thursday. Running back Joe Mixon might’ve kicked off a Pro Bowl season in Week 1 when he totaled 149 yards from scrimmage on 22 touches.

This is a divisional contest that could come down to the wire, but the Bengals are the best bet getting points at home.

Prediction: Cincinnati over Baltimore, 20-17