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The occasional NFL player probably does not know Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd.
He has not done much since entering the NFL as a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. But you know who surely knows Tyler Boyd? Crows fans.
Last season, the Ravens led a 17th week game with the Bengals, 27-24, with 58 seconds to go and a trip to the playoffs. Then, Andy Dalton threw a 49-yard touchdown to Boyd on the fourth and twelfth and the jaws of Ravens fans dropped. Their season was over thanks to the combination Dalton-Boyd. Boyd only tallied 22 catches for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns last season, so a pretty significant part of his line of statistics came from this catch.
So what are the Ravens doing in response? They went out and hired Bengal coach James Urban as a quarterback coach to start. And then spent the entire off season thinking about how to get back to the Bengals.
"We still have that bitter taste in our mouths," said Ravens cornerback Brandon Carr this week.
However, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is trying to leave the past in the past. "You still want to redeem yourself as best you can, certainly, but that will not influence who wins the match," he said Monday.
These two enemies of the AFC North are facing tonight Thursday night football in Cincinnati, and there are a lot of reasons to watch.
1. A green J. still dominates the Ravens and now the Bengals have John Ross on the ground too.
In 10 career games against the Ravens, Green has captured 48 passes for 817 yards and six touchdowns. In 2015, Harbaugh had this to say after a 10-game, 227-yard touchdown, two touchdowns for Green against Baltimore.
"One of these days, we will find out how to cover A.J. Green.It would be nice if we did it once before retiring.
Hiring your former coach is probably a good way to start. Green and Ross (who both had touchdowns in the first week) will try to impress against a tough Ravens defense tonight.
2. Lamar Jackson is not the starting quarterback of the Ravens, but expect him to always play.
The Ravens were not joking when they said they would find a way for Joe Flacco and Jackson to see the pitch. The first-round rookie made four assists and seven attempts in the first period. The Bengals must be ready to defend against him, and the public should be delighted to see him play.
Meanwhile, Flacco had an elite performance of Week 1, with 25 points on 34 for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Having the rookie in his neck can be a good thing for Flacco.
3. First place (for now) in the North AFC region is at stake.
Because the Steelers tied the Browns last Sunday as the Ravens and Bengals both won, the winner of this match will take first place in the AFC North for at least a week. A fast forward in the division race is never a bad thing.
4. The Ravens defense is really good, but will it be as good when it will not face the invoices?
The Ravens scored 47 points against the Bills last week. They also limited Buffalo to just three points. Can they do it again against the Bengals in the Cincinnati home game? The Bengals are also bringing their team back to the 1988 AFC Championship for a 30-year celebration, so the Ravens will be looking to spoil it. Baltimore cornerback Jimmy Smith is suspended for the match, as is Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Thus, both teams will miss the main defensive players.
5. The Bengals are horrible in prime time and have embarrassed themselves extraordinarily Thursday night football at week 2 last year.
Cincinnati is 5-14 in prime time during the Andy Dalton-A.J. Green era (from 2011). The Bengals have only one prime time match on their schedule this year and that's tonight's match with the Ravens. This is good news for the Bengals, who have obtained an overall record of 65-45-2 from 2011 to 2017.
Last year, the Bengals failed to score a point in their first game of the season against the Ravens before scoring a touchdown in the second week against the Texans, at the same place and same TV show.
Last week, the Bengals had 34 points against the Colts, including three touchdowns. If they can have this offensive firepower this week against a good defense of the Ravens, this will greatly help to make the monkey disappear in prime time.
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