Game Thread -- Ravens @ Bengals (Pseudo Preseason Edition)

[Corey]

Indy just won an emotional game against Houston while the Ravens have been game planning for Indy all week. I see a Ravens win at home

Indy will have the edge in emotion and momentum but the Ravens should have the edige in game planning. We will see if it's enough.

[bmorecareful]

If you think that anyone but Tyrod spent more than an idle afternoon prepping for Cincinnati this week, I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you.

You're exaggerating but probably broadly correct. I doubt the coaches spent a ton of time gameplanning for Cincinnati. The point I was trying to make is that you can't just assume that this past week was the same as a bye, and that's why I'm not sure how much predictive value the Ravens' record after a bye holds. It certainly bodes well generally just in terms of the Ravens' motivation, although they're never lacked motivation to play hard in the playoffs.

To be very specific, the problem that I see is that the Ravens' offense has major issues with their rhythm, timing, and communication. They looked great against New York, but is that the offense that shows up? Or does the Denver offense show up? I think the Ravens would have been well-served to work on their offense under live fire today. They didn't bother to and we'll see what impact that has.