Tuesday saw the Baltimore Ravens ink inside linebacker Roquan Smith to a five-year extension worth $100 million. Lamar Jackson remains unsigned, as his decision to enter the season without a deal, while serving as his own agent, was one of the larger gambles by both sides in 2022. Jackson started 2022 putting up big numbers, but a knee injury has had him out for multiple weeks and may keep him out of the Ravens’ wild card game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Can the Ravens get revenge for their Week 18 loss and end the Bengals’ postseason in front of the Cincinnati fans? Don’t miss our NFL Playoffs betting thoughts about one of the AFC’s more enigmatic teams.
NFL News: Baltimore Ravens Betting Analysis
→ Lamar Jackson may be done for the season
Ian Rapoport reports that “We thought…if Lamar is not going to play for the regular season, surely he will be ready for the playoffs. However, from my understanding…Jackson faces an uphill battle to be able to get out on the field in the playoffs against the Cincinnati Bengals.” Jackson last played on December 4, fighting a PCL strain, and his entire rehab has been conducted behind closed doors. Without Jackson, the offense ranks 26th in offensive EPA per play and 21st in offensive success rate. Even with Jackson, beating the Bengals on the road would be a tall order, but without him, the odds get even longer.
→ One interesting prop bet: Will J.K. Dobbins or Joe Mixon get more rushing yards?
Even if Jackson plays, it’s hard to imagine him being at 100%, and if he doesn’t play, Tyler Huntley might not be able to play either, as a shoulder injury kept him out of Week 18; it was third-stringer Anthony Brown that played. No matter which of these three options ends up taking the field, it’s likely that the Bengals will load the box and dare the Ravens to beat them throwing the ball down the field. That approach led to a pair of interceptions for Cincinnati in the early going, and loading the box should keep the Ravens facing third-and-long – and if the Bengals can get out to an early lead, the Ravens will have to throw the ball more, playing from behind. The Bengals’ offense has great balance, and I expect to see Mixon pounding the ball to keep that clock ticking away, so I would take Mixon in this prop.
→ Another interesting prop bet: Will any wide receiver in the game have more than 100 receiving yards?
How focused will the Ravens’ defense be if the offense keeps coughing up the ball like they did last week? If the game starts moving in the Bengals’ direction again, it’s easy to imagine the Ravens’ defense losing focus as a result of fatigue – and Burrow taking advantage. I expect Burrow to show better accuracy than he did in Week 18, simply because of the uptick in effort that comes in the playoffs and Burrow’s track record in previous postseason games. It wouldn’t surprise me if Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase had 100+ yard games, but given Chase’s recent resurgence, I would say that he is more likely than Higgins to break the century mark.
→ But can the Ravens cover?
Depending on which book you look at, the Bengals are favored by 6 ½ or 7 points to win this game at home. It’s important to remember that Baltimore’s defense is still ranked third, despite the lack of offense, and the only game they lost by more than 10 points all season was the Week 18 setback in Cincinnati (although the Ravens did cover an 11 ½-point spread). The Bengals got bogged down in the red zone, a problem that had not plagued them since the first third of the season, and if the defense had not scored a touchdown, the final margin would have been just four points. So yes, the Ravens can cover this time around as well.
NFL Betting Odds
Love betting NFL football? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NFL lines
