Bengals-Ravens: There's no beatin' Keaton on 'TNF' 

It's a beautiful thing to see the calendar and know that tonight we have a high-stakes football game between two division rivals who both remain viable Super Bowl contenders in Week 11. Such is the way of things tonight, and it's a damn good thing.

Win or lose, Ravens should fly through some yards

Baltimore has looked to be one of the best teams in the league all season, though that's a take that has turned a bit given their collapse against Cleveland last week. Similarly, Cincinnati's momentum was on the upswing but they ran into a buzzsaw in the form of rookie phenom C.J. Stroud.

We lean toward a close game and the Bengals covering their +3.5 spread, but we'd rather look at the Ravens offense in this instance due to some defensive issues Cincy hasn't been able to quell.

The Bengals are beautifully balanced on defense, if by balance you mean allowing plenty of yards per rush (5.0) and yards per pass attempt (7.4). Both marks rank inside the top three in the NFL, meaning the Ravens should be able to pick and choose how they'd like to move the football.

First play: Keaton Mitchell over 14.5 longest rush (-114 FanDuel)

Mitchell has been an explosive play waiting to happen out of this Baltimore backfield the past two Sundays. On just 12 rushing attempts, Mitchell has racked up 172 yards, averaging 14.3 yards per carry. He had two 40+ yard rushes in Week 9 with a long of 60 yards, and last week he took his first carry for 39 yards.

Cincy is allowing the second-most 10+ yard rushes this year. It's hard to imagine Mitchell doesn't get more touches and take advantage here.

Second play: Mark Andrews 70+ receiving yards (+135 DraftKings)

Tight ends have been torching the Bengals lately. Dalton Schultz went for 71 last week, Dalton Kincaid had 81 the week prior, and George Kittle finished with 149 the game before that.

Now it's Andrews' turn, who has averaged 83 receiving yards per game in his past four meetings with Cincinnati.

Let's have us a fantastic Thursday night!

In the news ...

Draymond Green suspended five games for on-court altercation Tuesday — Following an on-court scuffle that saw Golden State's Draymond Green headlock Rudy Gobert, the NBA handed down a five-game suspension for the Warriors forward. Past incidents and history were cited as reasons for the five games; this is Green's fifth career suspension. Golden State is 61-59 without Draymond Green in the lineup, compared to 516-251 with him. The Warriors play tonight against the Thunder and are home underdogs at +114.

Cy Young winners announced — The two best pitchers in baseball have been crowned from the 2023 season. In the National League, San Diego's Blake Snell took home Cy Young honors, becoming just the seventh player in MLB history to win Cy Young in both the AL and NL. Snell's stats: 14-9, 2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 234 SO in 180 innings pitched. For the American League, New York's Gerrit Cole finally captured the win after four straight seasons of finishing inside the top 10 of Cy Young voting. Cole's stats: 15-4, 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 222 SO in 209 innings pitched.

Frank Reich reportedly on short leash in Carolina — Despite just joining the Carolina Panthers this past offseason, it sounds as if there is a real chance Carolina could blow it all up and fire Frank Reich and his staff after just one season. There's a growing sentiment that unless Bryce Young and this offense see significant improvement in the last two months of the season, the team might clean house. There is no incentive for the Panthers to tank, as Chicago owns their first-round pick, which would currently be No. 1 overall if the season ended today. Things look bleak in Carolina.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll, the guy who won $8K on a $20 NFL parlay. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.