Two teams with Super Bowl designs will meet Sunday in southern Ohio. But the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals both need to shore up their defenses if they hope to emerge from a challenging division. The Ravens are slight road favorites in this meeting of contenders who have had a slow start to the season.

The Bengals got their first win last week when they defeated the Panthers. Cincy is scoring like a playoff team (third in the AFC in total yards), but the defense is allowing 145.5 yards per game on the ground (bottom 10 in the NFL). Few teams can simply beat their opponents, especially if the other side is pounding the ball and beating up the defensive unit.

Quarterback Joe Burrow has turned around the Bengals franchise since being taken No. 1 overall in 2020, but the Ravens have proven to be a tough opponent for the former LSU star. Burrow is 3-4 lifetime against the Ravens.

The Ravens have righted their ship by winning twice after an 0-2 start. But this divisional matchup will test their surprisingly shaky defense, which finally showed up in an impressive 35-10 drubbing of Buffalo last week.

The Bengals are allowing 26 points per game, which doesn’t bode well for the Lamar Jackson showdown. Jackson has taken over at times over the last two weeks to get his team some much-needed wins. Jackson has had a touchdown on the ground each of the past two weeks and has handled the passing game with aplomb for the most part, with just one interception so far this season.

All odds from BetMGM. Looking for NFL tickets? Find them here.

The Pulse Newsletter

Free, daily sports updates straight to your inbox.

Free, daily sports updates straight to your inbox.

To register

Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals Odds

How Ravens vs. Bengals to watch

• Location: Paycor Stadium – Cincinnati
• Time: 1:00 PM ET
• TV: CBS
• Streaming: Fubo (free trial)

Expert picks for Ravens vs. Bengals

Read more about NFL Week 5

Anonymous 2024 NFL Player Poll: Josh Allen for MVP; Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson as building blocks

Taylor Swift’s presence at NFL games is positive for the league, players say in a poll

NFL Week 5 tackles the spread: A grumpy Aaron Rodgers heads to London

(Photo by Joe Burrow: Matt Kelley/Getty Images)