5 Ravens who could give Bengals trouble in Week 2
- Duvernay could be a special teams threat
- Smith and Washington will look to make the offense's day miserable
- Flowers and Jackson could make things tricky vs defense
By Glenn Adams
The Baltimore Ravens have several players who will present unique problems for the Cincinnati Bengals when they visit Paycor Stadium this Sunday afternoon.
On their defensive line alone, they have exceptional and talented players, such as David Ojabo, Odafe, Oweh, Justin Madubuike, Jadeveon Clowney, and Broderick Washington, who combined for two sacks and seven additional quarterback hits in their season opener.
On the offensive side of the ball, even though J.K. Dobbins is out for the year due to injury, they still have Gus Edwards, who averaged more yards per carry than Dobbins did on the same number of carries in the first game of the season.
After facing the Bengals in the final game of the regular season and being knocked out of the playoffs in the wildcard game by the men in stripes, the Baltimore Ravens are highly motivated to come into “The Jungle” and leave with a victory.
To come away with a win, the Ravens will need excellent performances from their offense, defense, and special teams. They have the players in each phase of the game to cause the Bengals problems. Here are five Ravens who could give the Bengals trouble in Week two.
All statistics are provided by Pro Football Reference.
5. Devin Duvernay
One Baltimore Ravens player that the Cincinnati Bengals should be concerned about is punt and kick returner Devin Duvernay.
Duvernay did not get the opportunity to return any points last week against the Texans. Anticipate him being excited about the prospects of getting opportunities against the Bengals this weekend. He had one kickoff that he returned for 18 yards. That is below his standard, and he will look to improve that average.
Last year, Duvernay fielded 13 punts for an average of 11.9 yards per return. That would have been second among all punt returners in the NFL if he had enough returns to be eligible for that category. With Brad Robbins struggling in his first game, Coach Simmons must steadily emphasize the high hang time that came along with drafting the rookie punter in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Duvernay is also an accomplished kickoff returner. In the 2022 season, he was one of five players to return a kickoff for a touchdown. He averaged 25.5 yards per return. That average would have been good for the sixth-highest yards per return in the NFL if he had enough returns to qualify for that category.
So not only is it incumbent on Robbins to have a good day, but kicker Evan McPherson must also do an excellent job of kicking the ball out of the end zone not to give Duvernay opportunities to return kickoffs.
Hopefully, McPherson will be kicking off a lot versus the Ravens, as the Bengals will have scored numerous touchdowns on the afternoon.