We have ourselves a pivotal AFC North showdown in Week 7 as the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens square off at M&T Bank Stadium.
Coming into the week, the division is as tightly knotted as you can get. Three teams are 4-2, including the Baltimore Ravens, while Cincinnati is right behind that group at 3-2 after being on the bye in Week 6. Both of these teams are currently looking up to the Cleveland Browns for first place, but these records suggest that the complexion of the AFC North can turn on a dime.
The big question throughout the week has been the status of Lamar Jackson, who has been sidelined the last two weeks due to an ankle injury. He was initially listed as questionable after practicing in a limited fashion all week, but was downgraded to out on Saturday afternoon. That means Tyler Huntley will get the nod and be tasked with going toe-to-toe against Joe Burrow.
Will Cincinnati notch its fourth win of the season and inch closer to leaping atop the division standings? Will Baltimore persevere through another week without Jackson? We're about to find out. As this game unfolds, check out our live blog of Sunday's contest. Below, you can find real-time highlights of all the top plays and expert analysis.
Date: Sunday, Oct. 25 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD)
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Bengals -1.5 (via DraftKings)
Flowers continues to be the key difference-maker through the first quarter. He just helped Tyler Huntley convert a third-and-13 with a 20-yard gain. As J.J. Watt noted on the broadcast, Flowers coming back to the ball was vital in that completion.
Cincinnati hasn't put together an inspiring start offensively. They moved just 21 yards on the opening possession before punting the ball away. Then, on the second possession of the afternoon, they went three-and-out after holding onto the ball for 59 seconds.
Mafe recorded his fourth sack of the season in a dominating effort on third down. The Bengals pass rusher blew past the line and was able to get a hold of Huntley, leading to a Baltimore punt.
Cincinnati punted the ball away after a failed third-and-1 attempt that was blown up by Kyle Hamilton. Samaje Perine took a shotgun handoff from Burrow -2 yards. Always a curious decision to go in the shotgun on third-and-1. It feels like it would've been a much higher percentage to convert with a simple QB sneak.
On a very similar screen to that we saw completed to Cuevas, Huntley connected with Zay Flowers on a third-and-9 pass. The star wideout then ripped off a 48-yard sprint for a touchdown. That's Huntley's longest career completion, but Flowers did most of the work on the scoring play.
After scoring a touchdown last week and seeing a season-high five targets, Snoop Huntley looks early for Josh Cuevas. The rookie right end ripped off a 16-yard completion on the first play of the game.
As Kyle Long noted, the AFC North is WIDE open. Baltimore and Cincinnati could go a long way in getting an edge with a win today. More importantly, neither of these teams wants to drop to 0-2 in the division today, as they each enter 0-1 in the AFC North.
