'TNF' preview: Bengals, Ravens set for pivotal AFC North showdown

Baltimore controlled the tempo in the first half of the Week 2 game, but a healthy Burrows should give Cincinnati more of a puncher’s chance out of the gate. 

Do Bengals drop the ball? Two-time Pro Bowler Ja'Marr Chase is coming off his fourth 100-yard game of the season in Week 10 against the Texans, but there are concerns about Cincy’s other pass catchers with Tee Higgins (hamstring) unlikely to play. 

Per data from RotoWire only Cleveland's Deshaun Watson has had receivers drop a higher percentage of catchable passes (8.8%) than Burrow (7.2%) among quarterbacks with at least 150 pass attempts. 

In a 30-27 loss to the Texans in Week 10, wide receiver Tyler Boyd dropped a pass in the end zone that would have given the Bengals the lead.

Roquan Smith: Is it too late to start Smith's Defensive Player of the Year campaign? The sixth-year linebacker is the best defender on the league's No. 1 scoring defense and is coming off a career-high 21 tackles in Week 10 against the Browns.

Burrow will likely be better off picking on Smith's teammate, Patrick Queen, who quarterbacks have a 106.3 passer rating against when targeting this season (h/t Pro Football Focus). 

Smith has allowed a higher completion percentage when targeted (80%) compared to Queen (78.6%), but Smith only allows an average of 3.3 yards after the catch, as opposed to 5.4 yards by Queen.

Joe Mixon: The Bengals have one of the league's worst rushing attacks, ranking 31st in attempts and 32nd in yards. But that isn't all on Mixon, who could challenge a Baltimore run defense that allows an average of 4.1 yards per rush attempt, 17th in the league. 

Mixon is seventh in the league with 137 carries and 12th in rushing (536 yards), yet the Bengals lack depth behind him. He's responsible for 79.6% of the team's rushing yards, the highest percentage for any back in the league. 

WHEN THE RAVENS ARE ON OFFENSE

Lamar Jackson: The 2019 MVP has never been better as a passer, but Jackson might need to rely on his legs against Cincinnati. Per RotoWire, the Bengals have allowed 247 rushing yards to quarterbacks this season, an average of 5.26 yards per carry, which ranks 27th in the league. 

In the team's first meeting, Jackson forced six missed tackles on his rush attempts, per PFF. As ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky noted, Cincinnati has something to prove in the tackling department after it was an issue against Houston.

Rookies Zay Flowers and Keaton Mitchell:  Baltimore has gotten key contributions from arguably the most exciting rookies in the league, first-rounder Flowers and undrafted free agent Mitchell.

Bengals secondary:  Cincinnati has an outstanding rookie of its own in the defensive backfield, 2023 second-round pick DJ Turner. He's appeared in nine game, starting the past five, and allowed 11 receptions with two pass breakups, including a crucial one to give the ball back to the Bengals' offense last Sunday.  

Tight end Mark Andrews: Baltimore has one of the league's top red-zone offenses, ranking fourth in red-zone touchdown rate (64.3%), partly due to outstanding tight end Andrews, who the team often turns to inside the 20. 

He accounts for 31.7% of the team's red-zone targets and a team-high six touchdowns. His target share increases to 35% inside the 10-yard line, where he has four touchdowns on five receptions. 

Per data from RotoWire, Cincinnati is one of four teams to allow at least 600 yards to tight ends and ranks 30th in yards per target to players at the position. Look for Logan Wilson, Cincinnati's best coverage linebacker, to get the assignment against Andrews most often. 

He has three interceptions this season and will be key to forcing Jackson to look elsewhere in the red zone.