Burrow’s Comeback Sparks Ravens’ Hidden Strategy—Can They Exploit His Weakness?

It’s that awkward moment on Thanksgiving night — bellies are bursting, the distant hum of post-dinner awkwardness fills the room, and you’re just desperate to collapse on the couch with some leftovers. Lucky for us, the NFL’s saved the day with three sizzling matchups, and the curtain call? Bengals vs. Ravens at 7:20 ET. Now, I gotta ask: why in the world is Cincinnati rolling out a convalescing Joe Burrow in what’s basically a lost season? It’s like bringing out the star player in a winner-take-nothing scrimmage — bold, bizarre or just plain risky? Meanwhile, the Ravens, once written off and riddled with defensive woes, are quietly reinventing themselves into a contender, tightening up their game one snap at a time. So, who’s really got the juice as the holiday winds down—a struggling Bengals squad hoping Burrow’s magic returns, or a Ravens team riding a defensive renaissance on home turf? Grab your plate, and let’s unpack the madness — because this isn’t your run-of-the-mill Thursday night football. LEARN MORE.

Bengals vs. Ravens, 7:20 ET

We are at that point in the day where our tummies are full, our tolerance for in-laws has reached its max, and we just want to sit on the couch. Maybe we get a plate of leftovers from earlier in the day, and have that to munch on as this final game of the NFL slate comes on. I will say the NFL deserves a bit of thanks as we got (at least on paper) three banger games for the day. Sometimes we get one or two, but usually not all three games. The third and final game of Thanksgiving is the Bengals and Ravens.

The Bengals are not having the year they envisioned, and are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but for all intents and purposes, the season is over. So, why are they making a quarterback change? Your guess is as good as mine to be honest. I personally don’t know why you bother risking Joe Burrow, your entire franchise, with sending him out for a meaningless game. I’m not disappointed by it, though. Burrow being back leads me to wonder a few things – is he healthy enough to be mobile? Will the Bengals offense improve significantly with him back and no Tee Higgins? Will his accuracy and speed be there right away? I’m guessing the answers to those questions are yes, potentially, and no. The Bengals offense could still improve, but the issue will still be the defense. They don’t stop anyone, and they continue to let tight ends torch them. Give Lamar Jackson another reason to throw the ball to Mark Andrews, why don’t you?

Speaking of the Ravens and Lamar Jackson, they were a team that was counted out at one point in this season. Their defense was a complete and total disaster until they upgraded via trade. The team is making progress every week and once again looking like a title contender. They are 6-5 for the season and have won all five games since their bye week. Most impressive is this: In their first six games, the team was 1-5, and they allowed 194 in those games. That comes out to allowing 32 points per game. Keep in mind, they faced a few very good teams, but they also faced some very bad teams with Cleveland and Houston being bad offensively. In their past five games, they’ve allowed 19 or fewer points to each opponent. They’ve allowed 67 points in that span, good for an average of 13.4 points per game. Now, before we go an anoint them as fully back, keep in mind who they’ve played: the Bears (decent, but a bit fraudulent), the Dolphins (the only good thing to come from them is Ace Ventura Pet Detective), the Vikings (don’t have a quarterback), the Browns (don’t have a quarterback despite drafting two of them), and the Jets (don’t have a quarterback). Is this a good stretch for the defense, or are they just playing bad teams?

I am not sure we have a great answer to that last question, however, I do think I have a great pick in this game. The Ravens are a better team at home, which doesn’t say a lot considering that’s normal. They do get the advantage of facing a banged-up Burrow. I don’t think he is 100%, and I don’t think this offense is 100%. What I do think is that Baltimore should be able to get whatever they want against a bad Cincinnati defense. Henry should run for a good amount and Jackson can pepper Andrews 100 times. I expect Andrews to get a touchdown in this one, but my play is the Ravens to cover the first half spread. Burrow will need some time to adjust, the Ravens defense does seem better and really only needs to focus on JaMaar Chase. Maybe the offense gets better in the second as Burrow gets used to game speed, but give me Ravens to cover the -3.5 in the first half.

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