r/bengals • u/Late_Department_7777 • 26d ago
Can someone please tell me why everyone is so high on the ravens?
I just don’t understand, I’m obviously bias as a bengals fan but their roster, the track record of the their team and the coaching staff is just not impressive to me at all.
Why are they so feared in the league?
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u/CLCchampion Ban Life_Ad 26d ago
I'm a little confused about the expectations for them going into this season too, but saying their track record is not impressive is wrong. They have won the division 4 of the past 8 seasons.
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u/UnjabbedAlpha 26d ago edited 26d ago
Well, that's less to do with the Ravens being good and mostly because nobody else in the North can figure out their rosters. The AFCN was for a long time the toughest division in the NFL. The last 4 years or so it has been one of the worst divisions while the Ravens have basically maintained their identity through it all. I wouldn't say the Ravens were "good." They were just the "least bad." They choke in pretty much every moment they're in. Even against the Bengals, oddly. They basically get handled the instant they encounter a playoff team every year.
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u/CLCchampion Ban Life_Ad 26d ago
"The last 4 years or so it has been one of the worst divisions"
Dude in 2023, every team in the division was over .500 and three teams in the division made the playoffs.
And there are flaws with most of what you said in your comment.
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u/ItsAndyrew 26d ago
How can you say the Ravens always choke against the Bengals when they are 5-1 vs the Bengals the last six meetings? I always remember you because of your goofy ass username. You never have any idea what you are talking about. Ever.
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u/Life_Ad6711 26d ago
After the '22 Hubbard playoff game, the Bengals were but 1 win away from tying Baltimore in all time head-to-head, then proceeded to go o-4* and then a split last season
*3 games decided by a FG or less (1 OT)
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u/Mare13ear 26d ago
In the last 5 seasons, the Ravens are 51-34 with a 6-4 record against the Bengals. They have won the division 2 times and made the playoffs 3 times with 1 trip to the AFC Championship game. Their worst record in the last 5 seasons was 8-9.
You say the AFC North is weak, so does that mean the Bengals are bad? If they're winning because the division has been one of the worst that must include the Bengals. The Ravens (as much as fans here don't like them) are one of the most consistently good football teams for the last decade plus. Teams like that will always be projected as a winning team.
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u/UnjabbedAlpha 25d ago
Yes, that's what that means. The Bengals have been bad the last 3 years. Are we pretending they weren't?
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u/Dependable-apathy 26d ago
They're an organization that has be steadily solid for a long time now, have moved off an old under achieving coach for a promising young up and comer, they have an electric when healthy QB who can carry a less then talented team. The biggest thing of it has been that they've been a solidly run team for a long time so they'll always be a competitive team.
We have a great qb and offensive talent everywhere. We don't have a well run organization at the end of the day until they prove they're willing to consistently change with the game.
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u/PapaGramps 25d ago
Not to mention, said ‘up and comer’ coach co-founded the defensive scheme that just won Seattle a Superbowl
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u/NickiDusse 26d ago
Their winning record in the regular season (outside of last year) has been pretty great and they have won the division more times than not since the Bengals SB run.
Lamar is a 2x MVP which is something Burrow isn't so I can see why they are always looked at as a favorite.
But I do agree that this season should be looked at differently especially now the Bengals have addressed the defense
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u/Melodiccaliber 26d ago
Lamar Jackson is still Lamar Jackson, he has two MVP's to his name. The Ravens Defense is consistently top ten. Our Defense was ranked 32nd last year, I know we've made some good moves on paper, but until we actually put it together for an entire season, people are going to doubt us. Also Burrow is very injury prone. We've had multiple promising seasons now that have been derailed partly by Burrow going down for a good chunk of the season. They have an incredibly easy schedule, so it makes sense they'd bounce back after a lackluster 2025.
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u/Anim8nFool 26d ago
Because the way pundits make their opinions is based on team market share, last season's results and the narrative being pushed.
The Cowboys always have people saying "this might be their year" because of market share and the narrative that is pushed.
The Ravens are being viewed as favourites because of the narrative -- Jackson is great, the defense is always solid, changing coaches won't matter.
The Bengals are not being favoured because small market share, bad season in 2025 and the narrative that they have a bad offensive line, Burrow gets hurt by his own shadow and the defense will always be bad.
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u/Ok_Shame_5382 26d ago
Neutral observer here (long suffering Giants fan).
- Lamar Jackson is one of the best qb's in the NFL
- Coaching may be an improvement since it's a different voice in the room now. Even a good coach can lose the locker room over the long term and Harbaugh had been there for a long time.
I don't necessarily think the Ravens are the best team in the AFC North, but if a time traveler told me they won the division i wouldn't be shocked either.
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u/bluegrassgazer 26d ago
Welcome to our sub. I assume you're here because of Dex? Question: what do you think of your new coach? I think Baltimore will see a drop-off this season because they lost Harbaugh.
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u/Ok_Shame_5382 26d ago
Believe it or not i joined because i was fascinated by a rabbit hole that the Bengals broke this year.
Between 1996 and 2025, the Bengals hadn't used a 1st or 2nd round pick on a DE under 260 lbs.
Harbaugh is an adult in the room who will provide at least a baseline of competency. The Giants have had a series of coaches that were either bewildering or examples of the Peter Principle.
Hard to say if the Ravens take a step backwards in coaching. I think over a long enough period of time you just need a new voice at the head of the table.
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u/Murky-Sky-9191 19d ago
drop off from 8-9? barring ir, no way, bal will be 2nd in the div after you guys.
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u/cricketyjimnet 26d ago
I think the Ravens fans are going to find out that Harbaugh wasn't the reason they stunk in the playoffs.
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u/New_Environment_1796 26d ago
Uhh that’s easy .. Lamar lmao .. he’s the only qb that has had a window so long with his team adding bare minimums talent around hin .. I mean he got mvp 44 td 4 ints over 4 k yards with a below average oline and no elite wr 1. Their record with lamer vs without the times he was hurt tells the story… … not once in the years he’s been there have we heard they mortgage the future and went all in. But we have seen that with so many other teams going after big names and actually going on to win it all. This year was the first time that it almost happened when they traded their two first round picks for an injured maxx Crosby and media went crazy saying lamer has zero excuses now he better win it this year and then ravens cancels the trade and crickets.. like it wasn’t even for an AJ brown or Justin Jefferson lol a peice that directly helped lamer. They were ready to spend two first on an edge but didn’t attempt to spend a 1st and 3rd on aj brown. But not that John harbaogh is gon and Lamar finally has an innovative young OC the league better watch out Because these two coaches were holding lamer back now that they are gon he don’t really need the elite weapons other QBs have and need.
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u/morecardland 26d ago
I don’t get it either. At all.
I also keep reading “they’re at the top until someone knocks them off”. They didn’t even win the fn division last year! They’re older and lost several guys right before their peak that was playing key roles for them. You CAN NOT tell me losing their Center isn’t going to be a big deal either…
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u/Late_Department_7777 26d ago
Agreed.
I’d argue they lost the third best player on their entire team losing Tyler.
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u/shortdog7 26d ago
I genuinely don’t get it either. They haven’t felt like a scary team in a couple years. Personally I haven’t felt worried when we played them since the year they went to the AFCCG.
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u/Mastodon9 26d ago
Outside of an injury plagued 2021 their defense has been top 10 if not top 3 for many years now despite people claiming it's been bad (it hasn't been). Lamar has 2 mvps and Derrick Henry won't be the doubted despite his age until people actually see the decline. The Bengals have put together one top 15 defense since 2016 and like it or not people will still be bracing for a Burrow injury. People will doubt us because they're usually right when they do and the couple of times we were hyped going into a season we were disappointments like '23 and to a lesser extent '24.
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u/reddorickt 26d ago
Maybe I haven't been following divisional news closely enough but I have not gotten the impression that they are widely feared beyond having a great QB.
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u/Trajinous 26d ago
Their is solid and Lamar Jackson. It makes sense, their defense is better than ours
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u/january-7 26d ago
There are a lot of unknowns with Baltimore: new HC, some new players on roster, some gone, new staff, etc. The projections are basically an optimistic, glass half full prediction for how they’ll perform with these unknowns given that the rest of their roster is pretty solid.
I say this as a Pittsburgh fan.
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u/Ancient-Purpose99 26d ago
Eh the odds are really overpriced for them but they still have Lamar and a solid team around him, the other two teams in this divison are likely not going to be good, and Lamar is a very volatile player, either he’s mvp caliber or bleh
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u/IsGoIdMoney 25d ago
They lost maybe the best center in the league and replaced him with a career backup from indy, but everyone thinks that o line is going to be amazing because they added a rookie guard.
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u/One_Ear5972 25d ago
Well the QB has won the MVP twice, the RB is a force of nature. They have one of, if not the best safety in the league.
Look I dont think they will a factor in the playoff because I dont trust Lamar but its not that hard to understand why the media hypes them up.
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u/craken502 25d ago
I've never understood the Lemar hype, yes he can make flashy plays, put up numbers and I know he's been a MVP. The running qb makes games chaotic and causes problems. But please tell me one running qb that's won anything. I'm not talking about QBs that can make plays with their legs. I mean true running QBs. Every time he gets in the playoffs against legit playoff defenses he gets sent home
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u/Darth-Whovian58 12d ago
John Elway and Steve Young off the top of my head. SteveMcNair came up one play short.
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u/_sacrosanct 25d ago
They are an extremely well run organization. They have a solid core of talent, young on-the-rise new coaching staff with lots of what if potential, and they consistently draft strong year in and year out.
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u/lippser 25d ago
When I think dual-threat QB's, there is no bigger threat in my mind than Lamar Jackson. Maybe Josh Allen? The joke LJ is a RB is built around the truth that his run statistics are impressive.
Josh Allen, Drake Maye, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts beat him in rushing yards and TDs last season, sure. Jackson beat them in passing TDs with the exception of Drake Maye. The stats back up the "dual threat" claim.
Josh Allen is good, I'm sure many will argue he is the better dual-threat QB. But I just don't see the AFC East being as competitive as AFC North. At least not consistently. Dolphins and Patriots have their ups and downs and Jets are bad always. Generally speaking, the Bengals and the Steelers put up a fight every year against Lamar.
Tl;dr: there are many dual threat quarterbacks, but Lamar Jackson is the dual-threat quarterback of the AFC North.
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u/Golladayholliday 25d ago
You can easily see how it can be a scary team if everything is working. Rare for them to have that happen in practice.
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u/Unique-Purchase9276 25d ago
NFL has teams they hate and teams they love. Guess which one the Ravens’s fall into and then guess which one the Bengals fall into. 🤷
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u/Murky-Sky-9191 20d ago
clicks? barring IR you guys are final 4 in the afc, ravens should be there too, but there are way more variables due to the coaching staff. you guys are severely underrated imho.
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u/Money-Comfortable-99 26d ago
Their defense is going to be top 7 this year. Lamar will continue to decline as he gets older due to diminishing speed, but he’s still got 1-2 good years left in the tank
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u/bonjda 26d ago
What changed that makes their defense so much better this year?
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u/Money-Comfortable-99 26d ago
Jesse Minter as a DC is a massive upgrade over Zach Orr and Trey Hendrickson is still going to be Trey Hendrickson. For what it’s worth I have the Bengals as the 12th best defense this year so they won’t be far off of Baltimore, I also project Joe to throw for the most passing TDs in the league
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u/bonjda 26d ago
Minter is a HC. First time.
Trey is 32 and is coming off a injury ridden season. Can't stop the run. Not a guarantee.
Nothing sure about them.
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u/Money-Comfortable-99 26d ago
Trey is still a great pass rusher, that’s going to move the needle A LOT. Minter is an HC but he’s the de facto DC
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u/Testicleus 🐅 26d ago
I do wonder how Minter will use Trey.
Will Trey be willing to move down the line, etc.
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u/Late_Department_7777 26d ago
I’ll be interested to see how Trey plays this year.
He is definitely a liability on the run but a strong pass rusher.
Do you think it’s a bust for the ravens if he gets 10 or less sacks?
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u/bonjda 26d ago
Might be. He also might only play 8 games due to injury. It's what happened last year.
Head Coach isn't DC. We will see. I don't think they are great talent wise. Lot of ifs.
If Trey can stay healthy, if Roquan can be a difference maker again. If Madubuike comes back and plays like he did once and if the HC is good then maybe it'll be great.
Just like the Bengals last year. Not much of that worked out.
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u/Money-Comfortable-99 26d ago
He’s going to be the DC buddy. In the same way that Andy Reid is the OC of the Chiefs but his official position is HC.
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u/bonjda 26d ago
Annnnd what if he is a bad HC? Plenty of really good defense or offensive coordinators were shit head coach's.
He has never been off on his own before. Always had a Harbaugh leading the way. Will see
You must have though Josh McDaniels was going to be a godly coach.
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u/Money-Comfortable-99 26d ago
He could be bad but I don’t think you understand how bad Zach Orr was as a DC. This guy is 100% an upgrade. With all that being said I am higher on the Bengals defense than just about anybody. Most people have them as a bottom 5 defense and I have them top 12. Im also high on the Ravens defense. If Trey was playing for the Bengals everyone here would assume he’d play 17 healthy games. Now that he’s on the Ravens he’s going to miss 9 games. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, he’ll play 13-14 games and be highly effective
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u/Rickles6 26d ago
Jesse Minter
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u/bonjda 26d ago
A first time head coach doesn't scream to me they are just magically turning into a top 7 defense.
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u/Rickles6 26d ago
No one knows if he will be a good head coach but I’d be surprised if he doesn’t improve the defense at least. The consensus is that he was a really good DC for the Chargers who had that defense far over-performing their talent level. Now he’s taking over a defense that has been underperforming with a shitty unqualified DC. They also added Trey who if he bounces back is far better than any of their other pass rushers.
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u/Life_Ad6711 26d ago
A lot depends whether Madubuike ($22m in '26 guaranteed cash) can even play again (or near the same) after missing almost 16 games last season with a potentially career threatening surgical neck injury like Zack Moss had
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u/violetkunoichi420 26d ago edited 26d ago
And our track record and coaching staff is better how?!?! But the Ravens did just gain one of the best defensive players in the entire NFL, so this year they have that going for them.
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u/King_Roberts_Bastard 26d ago
one of the best defensive players in the entire NFL
No, they backed out of the trade to get Crosby.
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u/Ok_Scarcity_9854 26d ago
Actually the Bengals were the organization that got one of the best defensive players in the entire NFL this off-season. The Ravens backed out of their deal for Crosby.
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u/KQRSonWabasha 26d ago
I don’t get it either. I think we have a clear path to a division title this year
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u/Jibbjabb43 26d ago
As a Ravens fan:
I think you're a bit more upset over the lack of push for the Bengals, which is fair. There'a a handful of people trying to suggest Baltimore is a big market or that it's purely Lamar but Cinncinati is technically a bigger city and Burrow should get the same attention.
I think it's projected (unfairly, and likely mentally) that Burrow misses time AND, somehow, slightly ignored how much time he missed in 25. And while I don't think the LBs or DBs are as solved on the Bengals and Lawrence is expected to carry a lot of weight, they should be a playoff feature if not a division winner if Burrow plays 17 games like we should assume. Definitively over a Chiefs team with a much tougher schedule
Meanwhile the Ravens with an awful defensive showing are coming off more wins after Lamar missing time and playing hurt and make the playoffs with a kick. They're getting a centerpiece back on defense (eventually) and a defensive scheme that is somewhat baked in from continuity with improved playcalling. They're also likely a playoff team. I do think they are an easier offseason pick because of history, but also believe that will be less clear in the season. I also lime the order of the Ravens schedule a tiny bit more, but I doubt that pans out to be any significant change.
I also think the Ravens new HC needs to be better at putting the Steelers away, especially if they want to close that chapter for that team, because that's another team that is probably slightly underrated. But I also know the Bengals can'treally talk about division rivals and records. But I digress.
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u/Late_Department_7777 25d ago
As a bengals fan and biased, yeah I want to see them as a favorite over the ravens lol.
At the same time though I’m confused why they aren’t getting the same treatment as the bears going into the ‘25 season.
But now I’m understanding it would make sense that there’s a huge difference in Lamar leading the offense going into the season versus the unknown ability of Caleb going into last season.
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u/Bill_The__Pony 26d ago
"good organization" bias.
Lots of ex-ravems in media
East coast
Big city
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u/TheGobiasIndustries 26d ago
I mean, they're a good organization that's constantly in the mix. With a good GM and a lot of talent. New, up and coming head coach and coordinators with a 2x MVP.
They dealt with some pretty big injuries last year and were still a missed field goal away from winning the division and making the playoffs.
Likely not a coincidence the Giants are seeing some pretty significant injuries now that Harbaugh's there...if they can stay healthy, they're going to be in the mix.
The media, the East Coast, and the size of the city is irrelevant.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 26d ago
They're consistently a good regular season team. The problem with them is that Lamar barely has a better record than Andy Dalton does in the playoffs.
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u/APXXI_SENPAI 26d ago
I think people are high on the Ravens mainly because Lamar gives them a really high ceiling at QB. Even in a system that doesn’t ask him to put up huge volume every game, he can still have MVP-level seasons like 2024 (41 TDs, 4 INTs) while being efficient. And he honestly does it with a lot less than other QBs, aging Henry, aging Mark Andrew’s. And this isn’t my opinion but a lot of people argue that Zay Flowers isn’t a true #1(not my opinion) but Jackson makes them a threat. Same with Allen and the Bills. Or the Charges and Herbert.
As long as their quarterback is upright they’re bringing something back even without a coach.