BOLD PREDICTIONS: A Thanksgiving Showdown

Riding a five-game winning streak, the Baltimore Ravens (6-5) host the Cincinnati Bengals (3-8) for a Thanksgiving Night special from M&T Bank Stadium (8:20 p.m. kickoff). Baltimore currently sits tied atop the AFC North standings with the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), who the Ravens will play in Week 14, followed by a rematch with Cincinnati in Week 15.

Baltimore is 32-26 vs. Cincinnati all time in regular season play, including a 19-15 mark under head coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens have won three straight against Cincinnati at home – including six of the past seven matchups – and are 12-5 vs. the Bengals in Charm City with Coach Harbaugh at the helm.

Television: NBC / WBAL Ch. 11 (Local Baltimore)

On The Call: Mike Tirico (PBP) Jason Garrett (analyst) Melissa Stark (sideline)

Officiating Crew Chief: Craig Wrolstad

Forecast at Kickoff: Mostly clear skies, 36 degrees, winds WNW at 8 MPH

Betting Line:

• DraftKings: Ravens – 7, over/under at 51 ½
• FanDuel: Ravens – 7, over/under at 51 ½
• Bet365: Ravens – 7, over/under 51 ½

Tony Lombardi

The Ravens offense has struggled here of late. They’ve plummeted to the 21st ranked offense overall and Todd Monken’s passing game ranks 29th. The Ravens red zone offense ranks 30th but the cure for it all is the Cincinnati Bengals defense which ranks 32nd overall, 32nd against the pass and their red zone defense is 28th.

On the other side of the ball, Joe Burrow returns and that triggers PTSD for many Ravens fans and a few local media talking heads. But to think that Burrow, who hasn’t played in over 2 months is going to magically walk on to the field and be the player he was in 2024 is a reach – a big one. There’s no phone booth at The Bank that he can enter and re-emerge from with an “S” on his chest. Making matters worse, there will be no Tee Higgins to draw attention away from Ja’Marr Chase and if you think the Ravens O-Line sucks, the Bengals offensive front is even worse. Factor in some cold weather for that turf toe injury coupled with a little stub on that toe, and Burrow’s mobility could be an issue.

• Lamar Jackson gets back on track and throws for 310 yards and 3 scores. His passer rating will approach the 158.3 max.
• Derrick Henry runs for a 110 while Keaton Mitchell adds another 60.
• The Ravens will have over 500 yards of offense on the chilly evening
• Mike Green makes former Ravens T Orlando Brown, Jr. look silly while Carl Lawson finally gets to play and takes down his former teammate. The Ravens defense registers 5 sacks and they force two turnovers.

This will be a relaxing evening for fans whose energy levels are dialed back thanks to tryptophan. This one isn’t even close. The Bengals add a late TD but it won’t be nearly enough.

Ravens 34, Bengals 17

Start, bench, cut Thanksgiving sides @dunkindonuts pic.twitter.com/B6fvaeoMr0

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 25, 2025

Kevin McNelis

The Ravens are trying to keep a good thing going with some home cookin’ on Thanksgiving. The Bengals boast high firepower on offense, especially with Joe Burrow‘s return into the lineup, but Tee Higgins‘ absence will loom large for them, as will their porous defense. This feels like it could turn into an offensive boat race, but here’s hoping Baltimore can pull away in this one.

— The Ravens have had a nasty habit recently of starting very slow on offense. They go three and out on their first possession, but a rusty Burrow tries to thread a ball into tight coverage and throws a pick, leading to a possession in Cincy territory. The ensuing possession leads to a Derrick Henry touchdown.

— I couldn’t tell you why, but I feel like this is going to be an Isaiah Likely game. He’s due for one, and it seems like he hasn’t been able to pop off in big spots the way we saw last year, but with Cincy’s struggles to go a hat for a hat in coverage, I think Likely ends up being the odd man out and goes 5+ catches for 65 yards and a long touchdown.

— After ripping off a few scores, the Ravens offense takes its foot off the gas pedal, and the Bengals get back within striking distance on a typical Ja’Marr Chase highlight reel play. It ends up being too little too late for Cincy, though.

I like the odds of winning football being on our TVs in the background of our tryptophan-induced food comas.

Ravens 34 Bengals 27

Derek Arnold

I thought real hard about being the one to bring green bean casserole to this otherwise delicious feast of predictions. I am encouraged by the Ravens’ defensive turnaround, but I am still not sure how real it is, considering their recent opponents have had Tyrod Taylor, Dillon Gabriel/Shedeur Sanders, J.J. McCarthy, and Tua Tagovaoila under center. Now we’ll see Joe Brr, who is motivated to keep Cincy’s season mathematically alive. I am also not convinced Hard Headed Harbaugh will do the logical thing and commit to taking away Chase via double coverage on darn near every snap. Lamar Jackson‘s leg injuries have now made their way from his hamstring all the way down to his toe, with stops at his knee and ankle on the way. The OL remains a group of softies who apparently lack anything resembling a mean streak.

For those reasons and more, I don’t have the warm fuzzies about this one.

BUT.

It’s a home Thursday night game. That’s always a huge advantage. Burrow hasn’t played since Week 2, and he will be without Tee Higgins. Maybe the Ravens defensive coaches refuse to let Chase go off in Baltimore again. On defense, the Bengals aren’t just bad; they’re historically terrible:

Despite a reasonable day against the Patriots, the #Bengals were able to barely hold on to their “lead” as the worst defense ever tracked by DVOA.

I’ll be writing about this a bit for ESPN this week. pic.twitter.com/2O0hi2U5PV

— Aaron Schatz (@ASchatzNFL) November 24, 2025

Trey Hendrickson, who’s been known to give Ronnie Stanley fits, hasn’t played in a month and is out again. Even a hobbled Lamar Jackson, behind a porous offensive line, can get right for a game against this group, right? Throw in the return of apparently the only Raven who can beat man coverage in Rashod Bateman and there’s reason for hope.

Finally, neither Lamar, nor Kyle Hamilton, nor Travis Jones are listed at all on the final injury report. Praise be.

We have the recipe for a sixth straight win and yet another happy Turkey Day in Charm City.

Ravens 34 Bengals 20

Rob Shields

Feels like every week is the biggest game of the year and this week is no exception.

Not only can the Ravens essentially end the Bengals’ season and any small chance they have at the division but they stand to head into the Steelers game with a full game lead, since Pittsburgh is playing Buffalo. It’s no guarantee, but they certainly should lose.

Today’s practice report was a good one, as we see Lamar, Bateman and Hamilton all listed as full participants. I think Bateman being out has been an under-the-radar issue with the offense. His separation is needed in big situations.

For this week, the Ravens are playing the worst defense in the NFL (still without Hendrickson) and their defense is by far and away the worst defense in the league covering tight ends, so this is a week where Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar could all cook.

The question will also be, how does Joe Burrow look as he comes back weeks earlier than expected? Burrow usually starts the season slow and this is essentially starting over, so I would expect some rust tomorrow. It is better for us that he didn’t start on Sunday against New England.  Burrow will also be without Tee Higgins this week.

This is a must win for the Ravens and it would be nice if the offense started to look good, especially Lamar.  I have thought they would have some ugly wins lately but I’m expecting things to be a little smoother tomorrow night.

Ravens 31 Bengals 20

Chad Racine

Sooner or later the Ravens are going to lose at least one of these upcoming division games. They’ve been narrowly scraping by the last two weeks. With Lamar’s injuries that seem to be moving throughout his body, they just need to get through this week and get another 10-day break. This is not a week the offense can afford to go stagnant.

If Burrow does in fact play I think it’s better for the Ravens to face a rusty Burrow back for his first game. However with Chase back they won’t have a problem putting up points. With a less than 100% Kyle Hamilton it won’t be an easy task for the defense.

Considering how awful the Bengals defense is this should be a chance for the Ravens offense to finally get in their groove. I want to see more Keaton Mitchell and less of Derrick Henry up the middle for every first down. I have no idea if this will be a high or low scoring game. This one is tough to predict.

Ravens 24 Bengals 20

Jared Pinder

Well this is certainly going to be a huge test for the Ravens. Despite the fact that we swept them last year, the Bengals offense annihilated Baltimore’s defense in both games. This is the biggest test Zach Orr has had in the past month and Joe Burrow coming back doesn’t make this easier (although the absence of Higgins does help).

The offense should be able to feast on this awful Bengals defense but given their recent struggles, it’s certainly intriguing.

— Ravens find their rhythm on offense (after another slow start).

— Lamar throws for three touchdowns.

– The defense beats up a bad Bengals o-line and Burrow’s return is not a good one.

Ravens 35 Bengals 21 

Jason Woolbert

The first good thing about this game is that it’s at home.  If you have a short turn around, never mind that it’s a major holiday, it’s a big advantage that the Ravens don’t have to travel.

The second good thing is that it looks like all the major players are going to play for Baltimore, while Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson are out for Cincinnati.  Ja’Marr Chase’s production goes down without Higgins, and that makes perfect sense.

Other than that, things are up in the air.  How healthy is Jackson?  How healthy is Burrow?  Will he play?  How healthy is Hamilton?  Will Chase be “pissed off for greatness” after being suspended last game?  How about Henry?  He looked pretty cross lately.  The Bengals defense is bad, but they looked improved against the Patriots, and the Ravens offense is trending the other direction.  The Ravens defense is greatly improved, and the Bengals offense is a big question mark.

I will defer to Vegas.  They say Baltimore is (-7) with an over/under of 51.5, so that would make the score…

Ravens 29 Bengals 22

Vermont Raven

This is a tough game to predict.  The Ravens offense has struggled, but the Bengals defense is bad.  On the other side of the ball, it looks like Joe Burrow will return, but who knows how mobile and/or rusty he’ll be.  He’ll have Ja’Marr Chase but won’t have Tee Higgins.  The Ravens defense has been playing well, but the Bengals’ offense is of a different caliber.  Add in the rivalry and these two teams usually put on a thriller!  I’ll be watching in person, taking my kids to their first NFL game.  Here are my predictions:

— Ja’Marr Chase has over 100 yards receiving and 2 TDs.

— Chase Brown has over 100 yards rushing and 1 TD.

— Joe Burrow is sacked five times.

— Joe Burrow throws two interceptions.

— Lamar Jackson again rushes for less than 50 yards.

— Derrick Henry rushes for 100+ and 2 TDs.

— Lamar Jackson throws 2 TDs, one to Mark Andrews and one to De’Andre Hopkins.

Ravens 34 Bengals 30

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