Are the Bengals back? Baltimore will decide

The Bengals (2-2) handed the undefeated Miami Dolphins their first loss of the season in a 27-15 win on Thursday night. There has been a lot of talk about a potential Super Bowl hangover for the defending AFC champions, but are they truly back after going .500 in the month of September?

Through the first four weeks, Cincinnati has faced Mitchell Trubisky, Cooper Rush, Joe Flacco, Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater. Besides Tagovailoa, who left the game with a concussion, all are or have been season-long backup quarterbacks in the NFL.

However, the Bengals are just 2-2 with many arguing the team should have started 4-0 to start the season.

Thereis no doubt the Bengals have one of the best receiving corps in the NFL, but the team has struggled to run the football effectively. Cincinnati is the tenth worst team posting 89.5 rush yards per game, while RB Joe Mixon is averaging just 2.7 yards per carry, according to ESPN.com.

The Bengals can only play who's next on their schedule and they've taken care of business the last two weeks. But they have quite the test in Week 5 as they're set to face the Ravens on Sunday night.

It will arguably be their toughest task yet as they attempt to contain Lamar Jackson who is putting an MVP-type season together. Jackson, who was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month, is dangerous in both the pass and run, leading the NFL in passer rating (119.0) and ranking sixth in total rush yards (243), per StatMuse.com.