The Baltimore Ravens blitzed the Buffalo Bills on both sides of the ball in their Sunday night win, demonstrating an intimidating, if not frightening method of football.
Their next opponent, the division rival Cincinnati Bengals, are all too familiar with how dangerous the Ravens can be and are preparing accordingly.
Quarterback Joe Burrow said as much Wednesday, tipping his cap in respect to the Ravens' ferocious ground game -- currently ranked first in the NFL by a margin of 45 yards per game -- when explaining how the Bengals must approach their Week 5 meeting.
"You've got to be aggressive out the gate," Burrow said. "You can't let the game come to you because your possessions are going to be so limited. I'm gonna have to play damn-near perfect. That's how I'm preparing, so it's an exciting opportunity."
To the Bengals' credit, they haven't had much of an issue scoring in the last three weeks, putting 25, 33 and 34 points on the board in their most recent three contests. Because their defense has struggled to get stops, only one has produced one win, and Burrow knows he's likely to be needed to be at his best to counter what two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the rest of the Ravens are bringing to the table offensively.
"We have to. Otherwise, they're just gonna eat the clock up, run the ball," Burrow said of maintaining possession against Baltimore. "We know how well they run it. So we have to start fast and give ourselves as many opportunities as we can."
Cincinnati has additional reason to enter Week 5 with urgency. The Bengals have won just one of their first four games, and with two straight wins under their belt -- including their dominant showing against Buffalo -- the Ravens appear to be building toward something special.
If the Bengals intend to climb back into the AFC North race, it will start this weekend. And that's written without even mentioning their recent history as rivals.
"It's a big game, it's a big game. We know what our record is," said Burrow, whose Bengals were swept in the season series by Baltimore last year. "We know the opportunities we have going forward, but it's our first divisional opponent. We're 1-3. We need to get this one. it's a big game for the Bengals."
