3 Bengals who need to thrive in Week 5 vs. Ravens

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to avoid an 0-4 start to the current campaign with a 34-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 4. The win kept Cincinnati's playoff hopes alive -- for the time being -- but their ability to remain in the postseason picture hinges on their ability to stack some wins.

So, pulling out a second consecutive win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 is very important for Cincinnati. In order for that to happen, the Bengals will need a complete team effort, as the Ravens are very sound on both sides of the ball.

While the whole roster needs to step up, here's a look at three Bengals players in particular who need to thrive against Baltimore in order for Cincinnati to pull out a win and avoid a 1-4 start.

Sam Hubbard, Defensive end

Sam Hubbard had a very slow start to the season. After three weeks of action, Pro Football Focus ranked him 239 of 239 defensive linemen in their pass rush grade metric, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. That's not great. Perhaps a lingering hamstring injury is partially to blame.

"I got something that's going to be lingering throughout the season, but I'm doing the best I can," Hubbard said of the injury last week. "I'm getting better each week."

Hubbard played better in Week 4 against Carolina, and he will need to continue that upward trend if the Bengals are going to get a victory over the Ravens, who boast the NFL's most potent ground game. Cincinnati's defensive line will need to play better as a unit than it has so far this season in order to slow that ground game and give the Bengals a chance to win, and Hubbard will need to be a big part of that.

Kris Jenkins Jr., Defensive tackle

It's not a coincidence that the first two players listed here are members of the defensive line. Technically, this entire article could be about how D-Line needs to play well in order for Cincinnati to get a second straight win, but that's pretty much common knowledge.

Cincinnati's defensive line is banged up, as B.J. Hill, Trey Hendrickson and Sheldon Rankins were all limited in practice this week. It remains to be seen how much any of those guys will be able to contriburte against Baltimore, but Cincinnati will certainly have to rely on some depth pieces, and that's where Kris Jenkins Jr. comes in.

Jenkins missed the first two games of the season, but he displayed some promising plays over the past two weeks, and he's expected to see an increase in snaps as a result.

"And he's showing that he can hold his own and do better," defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said this week. "He'll get as many (snaps) as he can handle."

The battle against Baltimore will be an excellent opportunity for Jenkins to further prove himself.

Joe Burrow, Quarterback

We'll switch off of the defensive line for this one, as quarterback Joe Burrow also needs to play well in order for the Bengals to have a chance. Burrow himself acknowledged that he'll need to be virtually "perfect" against Baltimore.

"Have to be aggressive out the gate," Burrow said of the game. "Can't let the game come to you because your possessions are going to be so limited. I'm going to have to play damn near perfect. That's how I'm preparing."

Burrow has the keys to the car when it comes to Cincinnati's offense, and they'll likely need to put up plenty of points to pull out a win. The good news is that the team has scored 30-plus points in two straight games. That trend will need to continue against the Ravens, and it will be largely up to Burrow to make that happen.