Among the teams he has faced more than once in his career, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has had some of his greatest success against the Baltimore Ravens — and some of his most painful.
Defense has defined the Ravens since the team came into the league in 1996, and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald will line up a unit across from Burrow on Thursday night that is among the league’s best in several categories.
The Ravens are first in fewest points allowed, first in sacks, second in fewest yards allowed, second in DVOA, and fourth in passing yards allowed, plus they feature the league leader in interceptions in Geno Stone (six), one of which came against Burrow in Week 2.
Baltimore’s Elite Defense Takes Aim at Joe Burrow
Asked what makes Baltimore so dominant in Macdonald’s second year, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan on Monday was coyly succinct to start:
“All of it.”
Burrow offered his thoughts during today’s news conference.
“They’re obviously very physical at all positions, from the outside in,” he said. “And they do a great job of disguising coverages. You never quite know what it is pre-snap. So you’ve got to be on your Ps and Qs post-snap knowing where you’ve got to go with the football against every look.”
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Never was that more evident than in that Week 2 meeting when Stone thwarted what appeared to be a sure touchdown pass to Tee Higgins, snaring the ball near the goal line in the third quarter as the Bengals were driving to try to take the lead.
“They do a great job with him in the structure of their defense,” Burrow said. “They know what quarterbacks are trying to look at to try to figure out what coverage it is, and they know exactly how to position themselves with their hips and their feet to make that hard to know. And he does a really good job.”
It was just the second career interception for the four-year veteran, but he’s added five since to take the league lead.
Geno Stone picked a great time for his 2nd career INT. (by @Fanduel) pic.twitter.com/bhlGEQuNUY
— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2023
But it wasn’t just a rare play for Stone at that point, it was rare for Burrow as well, as his touchdown-to-interception ratio against the Ravens is one of his best against any of the 12 teams he’s played more than once.
Burrow has thrown 12 touchdowns and just four interceptions in seven career starts against the Ravens, including last year’s Wild Card playoff game. The only teams he’s been better against are the San Francisco 49ers (5:0), Buffalo Bills (4:0) and Las Vegas/Oakland Raiders (3:0).
But the Ravens have hit Burrow once per 5.9 dropbacks and sacked him once per 15.5. That’s one of the best success rates by any team Burrow has faced more than once. In the Week 2 game at Paycor Stadium, they only had one sack but six hits.
That’s when Burrow was still feeling the effects of his calf strain, which he ended up tweaking late in the game, setting him back.
“I wasn’t obviously feeling my best at that point,” Burrow said. “I didn’t quite have my full toolbox in there. I thought we did some good things in the second half. The first half we didn’t have a ton of plays.
“We found some explosives in the second half. That’s what we have to try to do,” he added. “They do a great job of limiting those explosive plays, and you have to try to find them, because they’re going to do a really good job on offense keeping the ball, running it and scoring points. We’re going to have to do the same [on Thursday].”
Both teams are coming off last-second losses Sunday, with the Ravens falling to the Cleveland Browns 33-31 and the Houston Texans spoiling the Bengals’ furious comeback 30-27.
The Bengals are a game and a half behind the Ravens in the AFC North. A loss would all but end Cincinnati’s hopes for a third consecutive AFC North title as it would drop them 2.5 games behind, technically, but it actually would be a three-game cushion with the Ravens owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Callahan called it “a playoff game in November.”
Burrow didn’t go that far, but he acknowledged the magnitude.
“Whatever the records are, they are,” he said. “Every time we play these guys, it’s tough, and there will always be a lot at stake. It’s a big part of the year for both of us. They’re coming off a loss, we’re coming off a loss, we’re both trying to win the division. It’s a big game.
“That’s what you like about football,” he added. “You like going into those environments, challenging yourself with teams like this in situations like this. It’s a big opportunity for us.”
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