The Bengals face several individual matchups against the Ravens on Sunday. The most prominent is Trey Hendrickson facing off against his former team. However, other matchups could also be key, and ESPN's Mina Kimes previewed some of them on The Mina Kimes Show Featuring Lenny.
Kimes noted that Ravens receiver Zay Flowers' success against opposing linebackers this season is an area Baltimore offensive coordinator Declan Doyle could exploit against the Bengals. Flowers currently leads the league in yards against linebackers among wide receivers.
"The other thing I wrote down was how many times can Declan Doyle get Zay Flowers on the Bengals linebackers, Flowers has 177 receiving yards versus linebackers this year which is 51 more than any other wide receiver," Kimes said on Flowers efficiency against linebackers.
Kimes stated that regardless of who plays at quarterback for the Ravens on Sunday, that linebacker remains the most glaring weakness of the Bengals' defense, and they must mitigate that weakness.
"I think from the Bengals perspective, regardless of who's playing quarterback, that's [linebacker] so obviously the glaring weakness of this defense, and if you can avoid that in any way you want to do so," Kimes said.
Key Weakness Bengals Can Exploit
Domonique Foxworth noted that the Ravens' corner Marlon Humphrey has performed as expected for an older cornerback. He noted that the defense is still in a position where they ask a lot of Humphrey, and explained that it is not a position the Ravens should want.
While Foxworth expressed happiness with Nate Wiggins, Kimes said she expected a bigger leap from Wiggins in his third year and noted his inconsistency this season.
"I've been really happy with Wiggins honestly, and Humphrey I think has been what you expect, like he's been better than last year, but I mean he's an older corner, and they're still in a position where they're asking a lot from him which I think is not a place where you want to be," Foxworth said of Baltimore's cornerback duo.
"I thought this would be like another leap year and he's been a little bit up and down," Kimes responded.
Both Wiggins and Humphrey have shown a solid level of play this season, however, this remains a matchup that the Bengals offense and Joe Burrow can exploit.
Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have a combined 116 catches, 1,701 yards, and 14 touchdowns against the Ravens in their careers. Meanwhile, Burrow has completed 65% of his passes for 3,185 yards, 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions against Baltimore. With both Ravens corners having an inconsistent season so far, the Bengals stars should feast once more.
Burrow Has Success Against Jesse Minter's Defense
Burrow has faced Jesse Minter earlier in his career. Kimes pointed to Burrow's 356-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Chargers in 2024 and highlighted his efficiency against Minter's single-high approach. She said she is curious to see if Minter takes a different approach this time and said that she thinks the Bengals offense will have success on Sunday.
"Jesse Minter's defense with LA against Joe Burrow a couple years ago, Joe Burrow went 28 for 50, for 356 yards, and three touchdowns, particularly when they played single high he ripped them apart," Kimes said. "I am curious to see if Minter's learned from that experience, and what he does from a schematic perspective, I think the Bengals offense will have success in this game."
You can check out Kimes' full Week 7 preview below!
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