Offense

1.      Hurried spread attack: Against the Jets, the Baltimore offense didn’t need to score a lot of points to win the game. The Bengals are a different animal. They have the offensive capability to either keep pace with the Ravens or to lap them. Therefore, the Baltimore offense will have to be in attack mode from the start.

For the most part, the Ravens kept their offensive formations tight to counter the New York blitz. They will need to spread it out against a Bengals defense that will play less aggressively.

Specifically, look for offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to run more of the three-receiver, shotgun sets that he used on third down against New York. Those formations should be employed on early downs and try to catch Cincinnati in their base sets.

The Patriots had a lot of success throwing from the spread against the Bengals because Cincinnati lacked the pass rush from their front four to disrupt the passing game. Moreover, the Patriots were able to take advantage of a lot of mismatches in which receivers were matched up against linebackers.

The Ravens should start fast and run a hurry-up offense until the Bengals prove that they can generate a pass rush.

2.      Piercing the zone defense: Again, in contrast to the Jets, the Bengals play a completely different style of defense. Head coach Marvin Lewis plays a 4-3 zone scheme in which the safeties play high, taking away the deep ball. He relies on his cornerbacks to take away the outside routes, forcing a quarterback to complete throws over the middle.

This strategy worked to perfection against the Ravens a year ago. Lewis took away the Ravens’ outside passing game. Quarterback Joe Flacco struggled to read the zone and overall, the offense averaged a paltry 4.85 yards per pass attempt between both games.

If the Ravens spread the Bengals out, they will have an easier time finding holes against the Cincinnati zone scheme. The key will be to stretch the deep safeties so bigger windows open up over the middle for the slot receivers to run through. 

This is a game in which Flacco will need to step up and find his slot receivers and tight ends working behind the linebackers and safeties.

3.      Run from the spread: When the Ravens had success running the ball against New York, those plays went off-tackle and out of a more open set. At this point in time, the Ravens interior run blocking leaves a lot to be desired.

The Ravens should look to continue hitting the edges until they can properly coordinate their inside rush attack. In particular, if the Ravens start the game by throwing from different spread alignments, they should also look to hand the ball off to Ray Rice when the linebackers move out of the box to cover the pass.

Defense

1.      4-3 front:  The Ravens are not tipping their hand when it comes to the availability of Terrence Cody for Sunday’s matchup. But it would be a mild upset if Mt. Cody did not take the field after being held out of the opener.

After all, one could argue that Cody was drafted for this very game. The addition of Cody on the interior was supposed to add bulk and power to handle some of the bigger lines, like that of Cincinnati.

If Cody is a part of the rotation, it would make sense to use some more 4-3 looks in which Ray Lewis is at the center of an interior triangle. The Bengals did a nice job of getting to the second level in their matchups against Baltimore a year ago. Plugging the ‘A’ gaps with interior lineman should curb some of that movement.

The plan should be to have Terrell Suggs play more out of a three-point stance and to keep Jarret Johnson in a joker position so that he is constantly a threat to run blitz from the inside or outside.

2.      Better gap discipline: The Bengals ability to control the ball against Baltimore with its running game has been well documented. However, they were also able to hit on long gains against the Ravens. Tailback Cedric Benson hit on gains for 28 yards, 21 yards and two 15-yard gains. All of these plays were designed to bounce to the left or right.

Benson is one of the best at stepping inside to get the defense to crash hard inside, only to bounce the run behind the tackles. Given that Benson is such a patient runner, he forces an aggressive front to slow down and properly diagnose the play before the blocks develop.

It will be up to the Ravens to have better discipline and recognition when they attack the line. If they are too quick to hit the inside gaps, Benson will find the open creases and make them pay just as he did a season ago. The Ravens will need to play with the same level of patience as Benson does to maintain their gap integrity.

3.      Batman and Robin against the Hulk: Instead of emulating the cunning strategies of villains like the Riddler and the Joker, the Ravens may need to take on the mentality of the Hulk to defeat Batman and Robin, otherwise known as Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. 

This is a game in which the back end defenders need to play ferociously and hit the two receivers early and often. The Baltimore secondary boasts a physical group that will press at the line and run through receivers once the ball is in the air.

Batman and Robin will make their catches. It will be up to the Hulk to smash them once they secure the ball. If enough hits are applied, this duo will look to tap out as they have in the past in other physical slugfests.  

One-on-one Matchup to Watch  

Anquan Boldin versus Johnathan Joseph: Joseph had the responsibility of shutting down Derrick Mason a year ago. On Sunday, he’ll not only face Mason, but depending on the offensive formation, he will undoubtedly face Boldin as well. This will be a fun battle to watch because Boldin is outstanding at escaping press coverage, and Joseph uses an effective jam to stalemate receivers at the line of scrimmage.