The Cincinnati Bengals have been close this season to locking down a win. In Week 5 when it looked like the Cardinals had secured the first victory of their own, the Bengals came roaring back only to lose via a late Arizona field goal.
That will happen again in Week 6. Close games can mean a lot of things, but outside of two blowout losses, Cincinnati has shown they can at least hang around and make it interesting. Against Baltimore, look for that “hang around” trend to continue.
Picking a winner this week is more difficult than you may think. The Bengals, by the law of averages alone, should get a win eventually in 2019. What week that happens is a matter of debate. A win against a pretty good Ravens team on the road seems a tall order.
Or is it? If fans have seen one thing this season, no one in the AFC North is running away with a division title. All four teams have issues that make a clear cut favorite for 17 weeks hard to identify. This week, the Ravens look to be the favorite, but at 3-2, they don’t look daunting.
That said, it’s hard to see Baltimore an easy pick in Week 6. They weren’t very good against a Steelers team down to a third-string quarterback and needing overtime to win. Also, the Bengals have played the Ravens tough in recent seasons.
This will be a close game that might resemble what fans saw in Week 5 against a dynamic play-making kind of quarterback. If this game is in Cincinnati, the Bengals might actually be a timely dark horse pick.
However, in Baltimore, it will be a different story. Close, but a big play by Jackson is why the Ravens win this game late.
Cincinnati Bengals-24
Baltimore Ravens-28