The Cincinnati Bengals are off to a healthy start this season, reaching 2-0 with their win over the San Diego Chargers this past Sunday in their quest to reach the postseason for the fifth straight season. The Bengals have never missed the postseason with Andy Dalton as their quarterback and Marvin Lewis as head coach, the latter of which has been with the organization since 2003.
After cruising to a 33-13 victory in Week 1 over the Oakland Raiders on the road, the Bengals treated their home fans to a five-point victory over the Chargers.. The Bengals almost let the lead slip away but did enough to come away with the win, and thus, protect their currently unblemished record while sitting atop the AFC North division.
Week 3 will be the first division matchup for Cincinnati, who travels to Baltimore to play a familiar opponent. At M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens host the Bengals on September 27 in their home opener and according to RazorGator.com, Bengals tickets on the secondary market have an average price of $287.14 and a get-in price of $84, which is actually the most expensive Ravens tickets on the secondary market for the entire season at this time.
Dalton has been nearly perfect this year for the Bengals, completing 41-of-60 passes for 483 yards, five touchdowns and zero turnovers. If the undefeated Bengals are worried about anything at this point, it’s the ball security of starting running back Jeremy Hill, who was benched after two fumbles in this past week’s game against the Chargers.
Hill was projected by many to have a breakout season in 2015 and looked the part in Week 1, rushing for 63 yards and two touchdowns in a win. But Week 2 was certainly a different looking Hill, who accumulated only 39 yards on 10 carries before giving way to Gio Bernard.
Tyler Eifert has been a bright spot for the Bengals offense as well, securing his third touchdown of the season versus San Diego, in addition to A.J. Green catching his first touchdown pass of the campaign. The Bengals defense shut the door on the Chargers, who had the ball with a minute left down five, en route to intercepting a Philip Rivers pass over the middle to seal the deal.
As the Bengals know, division games are a different animal. The AFC North has always been one of the toughest division in football and Dalton has already has his fair share of battles with Joe Flacco and the Ravens. After an 0-2 start for Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium will be rocking as the home crowd will be desperate for a win. It’s the home opener for the Ravens and will be the most difficult environment the Bengals will have played in during this young season, making it one of the more anticipated NFL games on this week’s schedule.
