Thursday Night Football: Ravens and Bengals battle for the AFC North

Baltimore could lose their hold on the North with a loss tonight, while the Cincinnati need to win to stay in the race

The Cincinnati Bengals head to M&T Bank Stadium to take on the Baltimore Ravens in a Thursday night football matchup with big implications on the AFC North. Both teams are coming off losses in thrilling games, with the Bengals losing late to the Texans and the Ravens losing a nail biter to divisional rivals, the Cleveland Browns.

The Ravens are currently favorites over the Bengals, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. We have been using Tallysight to get our picks in each week, so sign up at Tallysight for submitting your own bets.

Baltimore holds a one-game lead in the AFC North with a 7-3 record, and while the Bengals sit in fourth with a 5-4 record, though it feels like it will come down to these two teams for first place. The Browns just lost their starting quarterback for the rest of the season and the Steelers do not feel like a contender this year, so if the Bengals can win tonight they would put themselves right back in the mix of things.

The Ravens won their first Week 2 game against the Bengals in Cincinnati 27-24, however QB Joe Burrow was still fighting through a calf injury that hampered him the first few weeks of the season and it had the Bengals offense off to a slow start. This time around Burrow is healthy but will be without WR Tee Higgins who is dealing with a hamstring injury. The Bengals will also be without defensive end Sam Hubbard, but luckily for Cincinnati it looks like their other defensive end Trey Hendrickson will be able to play.

On the flip side, Baltimore will be without two star players in tackle Ronnie Stanley, who was already ruled out, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey who is doubtful heading into the game.

I am a big Joe Burrow fan, however I am taking Baltimore to win this game and cover the spread. The Bengals have a few injuries along the defensive line and that is never a good thing when facing QB Lamar Jackson, who is the best dual-threat quarterback in the league, and maybe all-time.

I am taking the over in this game as well. Both team boast offenses with the ability to score early and often, and with each team having significant defensive injuries, this could become a shootout fast.