OWINGS MILLS – The instant replays keep performing justice for Jerome Simpson, spawning respect in NFL locker rooms around the league.

The vision never grows old.

There’s the Cincinnati Bengals’ imposing wide receiver elevating over spellbound Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington, somersaulting over him and flipping head over heels into the end zone and nailing the landing before raising his arms toward the heavens as if he was an Olympic gymnast who had just won the gold medal.

And now Simpson and the rest of the Bengals’ formidable passing game are the Baltimore Ravens’ problem Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.

Headlined by Pro Bowl rookie wide receiver A.J. Green and precocious rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and complemented by big tight end Jermaine Gresham and the raw skills of Simpson, the Bengals present a tough matchup for any secondary.

A first-round draft pick from the University of Georgia, Green leads the Bengals with 63 receptions for 1,031 yards and seven touchdowns.

He’s the first Bengals rookie to make the Pro Bowl since Cris Collinsworth in 1981.

Green is tall, fast and strong at 6-foot-4, 207 pounds

“I call him the leading rebounder in the National Football League right now,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He goes up and gets a lot of balls. They’re going to throw it up to him and not just him, Simpson and Gresham.

“Those guys are all playmakers. He’s a vertical threat. He can go chase a ball down. So, you’ve got to cover him and you’ve got to get pressure on the quarterback.”

Green missed the first game against Baltimore due to an injury, so this is his first meeting with the Ravens’ third-ranked defense and fourth-ranked pass defense.

The Ravens yielded 373 yards to Dalton and one touchdown to Andre Caldwell in their 31-24 win over Cincinnati at M&T Bank Stadium, also intercepting the rookie three times. Caldwell is now out for the season with a sports hernia, but Green is back.

And he’s expected to be a big factor in this pivotal regular-season finale.

“A.J. Green he’s a big-play guy,” outside linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “I heard some refer to him, he’s the new Randy Moss. He’s like Randy when Randy first got into the league.

“We definitely have to contain him, but we have something that we like to call, ‘The Fear Factor, [Pro Bowl free safety Ed Reed] that lines up behind us. So, we’re pretty safe. We feel that we’re pretty safe from him. He’s still capable of going back there and making a play. He’s definitely a problem that we’re going to have to deal with.”

Despite a separated shoulder suffered earlier this month against the St. Louis Rams, Green has been involved in several acrobatic catches all season.

With big hands and intensity to match, Green is a huge threat.

“He’s very versatile,” Carr said. “He can catch short routes and he’s a vertical threat as well. He’s just a complete receiver. He can do everything.”

Besides Green’s contribution, the Bengals are spearheaded by Gresham catching 61 passes for 524 yards and six touchdowns.

A former first-round draft pick from Oklahoma who was a blue-chip basketball player in high school, the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder is a big target.

And Simpson, a second-round draft pick from Coastal Carolina, has caught 45 passes for 671 yards and four touchdowns. Until his eye-popping play against the Cardinals last weekend, he has maintained a quiet demeanor after a delivery of marijuana was delivered to his girlfriend’s residence in Kentucky. Simpson hasn’t been charged with a crime.

“They have a lot of young talent,” outside linebacker Jarret Johnson said. “They have very athletic, young receivers. They’ve got a good mix of veterans, which is what you look for in a good football team.

“They have all the weapons and all the energy that we care to deal with. It’s going to be a challenge for us. You want to make them one-dimensional and take away the big plays. We gave up some big plays in the first game. That’s one thing we’re looking to definitely not do is get the ball thrown over our head.”

A perennial winner at Texas Christian with strong intangibles, intelligence and accuracy, Dalton has completed 58.9 percent of his throws for 3,166 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for an 81.8 quarterback rating.

“He has a very calm presence back there that you don’t see that very often,” Carr said. “A lot of quarterbacks don’t get that way ever. He has that already. He’s very natural and feels comfortable back there and has played very well.”

Dalton has the Ravens’ full attention.

“He’s mature beyond his years,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t seem to get rattled. He’s definitely not fearful. He’s coming out firing. He’s managed the game extremely well for a rookie. We’ve got a lot of respect for the guy.”

The Ravens counter with experience and a defense loaded with Pro Bowl selections in Suggs, Reed, middle linebacker Ray Lewis and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.

They’ve recorded 47 sacks, led by Suggs’ 13. And cornerback Lardarius Webb has intercepted five passes.

“Just the same problems,” Webb said when asked what he anticipates from Dalton. “We’ve seen last time how good he is. We didn’t expect that last time. Now, we expect him to be as good as he is. With A.J. Green back this week, it’s going to be a tougher Cincinnati team. We have to bring our ‘A’ game.”