Tonight is the Night

There's a good argument to be made that the success of the Bengals' 2006 campaign hinges on a very important match up against the Ravens tonight. If we could've eked out an extra victory or two earlier in the season, this game wouldn't be as important. Alas, we're sitting on a 6-5 record, and while it's possible to get into the playoffs with an 11-5 mark, 10-6 just ain't cutting it in the AFC these days, and you can forget about 9-7.

Thus, in order to make it to the postseason, the Bengals basically have to run the table against some of the best teams the AFC has to offer. Oh, and the Raiders, but that's a fight for another day. But seriously: Ravens, (raiders), Colts, Broncos, Steelers? That, my friend, is what we call a bitch of a schedule. But my attention is wandering: the only game that is important right now is the one we play tonight.

Despite their very impressive 9-2 record, the Ravens still aren't a complete team by any means. But their top notch defense is so good that when it's firing on all cylinders, it makes the opposition look foolish and grossly mismatched. The good news is the Bengals have one of the best offenses in the game, and I expect them to give the Ravens some headaches.

With a painful 26-20 loss already on the books this season, the Bengals have some experience / game tape to help them prepare for this game.

So why did we lose?

1. Three Cincinnati Turnovers. That's the game right there, gang. Two picks thrown by Palmer, plus a lost fumble, courtesy of Chris Perry on the opening kickoff. That fumble really set a shitty tone for the game, much as the 101-yd. TD return by the Browns (which was overturned) set the tone for that game. That opening drive is so important. Which makes me a bit scared that we don't have any regular starters (or even backups) returning kicks for us.


2. Steve McNair was 6-8 on converting on 3rd down in the first half. He killed us. Usually by throwing to Mark Clayton. We have to start sacking up on 3rd down. Bresnahan has been doing a lousy job of play calling on 3rd down all year, and this needs to be the game where he steps up.

That's pretty much the story of the game. If we win the turnover battle and keep steady pressure on McNair, we should win this one. Remember, even though we turned the ball over three times, we still only lost by six points. Erase even one of those turnovers, and we could've won the game.

Did I mention that Baltimore had one of the easiest schedules in the league? They have won games against two "good" opponents: San Diego (can't take anything away from them there) and Pittsburgh. Granted, they beat two teams that beat us (Atlanta and TB), but I'll insert the usual arguments about how we were robbed in TB. Atlanta -- shit I guess you got me there.

I, for one, am cautiously optimistic about our chances tonight.

WhoDave's official prediction: Bengals 24, Ravens 13.

Who DEY!