Cincinnati @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 13, 2018 ) Baltimore 23, Cincinnati 34

The Baltimore Ravens stumbled into their bye week with three straight losses and dug themselves a big hole in the AFC North. The Ravens will try to begin the process of crawling out of that hole when they return from the bye to host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Baltimore sits in third place in the AFC North, one game behind the Bengals and 2 1/2 shy of the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers, and is staring at a rough closing stretch to the regular season that includes road games at Atlanta, Kansas City and the Los Angeles Chargers. Making matters worse is the uncertain status of quarterback Joe Flacco, who will be a game-time decision due to a hip injury. The Bengals are not exactly coming into the matchup with positive momentum after getting shellacked at home 51-14 by the New Orleans Saints last week, which marked the third loss in four games and the third straight contest in which they surrendered at least 34 points. "It feels like things have been going haywire, but we're going to Baltimore -- a team that we handled at our house," Cincinnati linebacker Vinny Rey told reporters after the loss. "... Right when it feels like the sky is falling, you go to Baltimore and take care of business and you're right in the middle of the fight. Coaches are going to be on our tails and rightly so. Every man needs to point (the finger at) themselves, because each person had stock in this loss."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Ravens -4. O/U: Off

ABOUT THE BENGALS (5-4): Cincinnati, which fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Monday, is the first team in the Super Bowl era to allow at least 500 yards in three straight games and rank last in total defense after surrendering 28 points in the second quarter alone against the Saints. "It’s just not one thing," safety Shawn Williams told reporters of the defense. "Like you said, it's a snowball. There's a lot of things we're just not doing well enough. We're not tackling well enough. We're not breaking up passes, we're not getting them behind the chains. It's always second-and-five, or second-and-four." The offense didn't help the defense much with a pair of turnovers against the Saints and quarterback Andy Dalton is expected to be without his best wide receiver, AJ Green (toe), for at least one more game.

ABOUT THE RAVENS (4-5): Baltimore coach John Harbaugh is not giving any indication as to who his starter at quarterback will be, but rookie first-round pick Lamar Jackson says he's ready to go. "I feel like I'd be very prepared," Jackson, who has been limited to 12 pass attempts - seven completions - and 28 rushing attempts as part of various packages in the Ravens offense, told reporters. "I'm trying to sponge everything in. ... Whatever happens, will happen." Baltimore could also go with former No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III, who was inactive as the No. 3 quarterback for each of the first nine games but ran practice alone on Thursday with Jackson sidelined due to illness.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Bengals hired former assistant Hue Jackson, who was recently fired as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, as a special assistant to the head coach with a focus on defense.

2. Ravens C Bradley Bozeman (calf), G James Hurst (back) and T Ronnie Stanley (leg) are all questionable.

3. Cincinnati took the first meeting 34-23 on Sept. 13 and won eight of the last 10 in the series.

PREDICTION: Bengals 31, Ravens 28