The Bengals are suddenly showing signs of life with Chad Ocho Cinco and T.O. out of the picture.  The Bengals have won two games in a row and they beat the Ravens earlier this year (15-10) in Cincinnati so they aren’t intimidated at all by them.  Joe Flacco threw 4 INTs in the first matchup between these teams.  The Ravens could win the AFC North with a win on Sunday and a Steelers’ loss in Cleveland so they will be plenty motivated for this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are getting a good look at some of their younger players and I think they will relish this challenge.  Look for Carson Palmer to come out throwing the ball a bit against a Ravens’ D that is allowing 219.6 yards passing per game.  Palmer will likely spread the ball around to WRs Andre Caldwell, Jerome Simpson, Jordan Shipley and TE Jermaine Gresham making it hard for the Ravens to cover everyone.  He will need to keep tabs on where Ed Reed is as he is a big play demon for the Ravens’ D.  Cedric Benson & Bernard Scott will also pound away against a Ravens’ that is only giving up 94.2 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are likely going to come out running the ball so the front seven is going to have to slow down Ray Rice & Willis McGahee and that won’t be easy.  The Bengals will be sending rookie DE Carlos Dunlap (8 sacks) after Joe Flacco all day long.  The Bengals seem to have Flacco’s number as for some reason he has looked perplexed against the Bengals’ D.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, BENGALS 20

The Bengals have placed 26-year old RB Brian Leonard on Injured Reserve with a ankle injury.  Leonard played in 11 games for the Bengals this season and he carried the ball 9 times for 61 yards  (6.8 ypc).  He also caught 20 passes for 137 yards (6.9 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Leonard has now played in 25 games in his first two years with the Bengals and he has carried the ball 36 times for 145 yards (4.0 ypc).  Leonard also has caught 50 passes for 354 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab in his time with the Bengals.  The Bengals have claimed 23-year old CB David Pender off waivers from the Colts to replace Leonard on the roster.  Pender played in 3 games for the Colts and he had 2 tackles.  He was a undrafted rookie.

With Chad Ocho Cinco and Terrell Owens’ years being over the Bengals have had a couple of young WRs step up.  25-year old Andre Caldwell has caught 8 passes for 176 yards (22.0 avg) in the Bengals’ last two games.  This really came out of nowhere.  Caldwell has played in 14 games so far this year and he has 18 catches for 251 yards (13.9 avg).  24-year old WR Jerome Simpson has caught 8 passes for 154 yards (19.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his last two games for the Bengals and those are his only catches in 4 games this year for the Bengals!

Caldwell has now played in 37 games in his first three years with the Bengals and he has caught 80 passes for 761 yards (9.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 9 times for 73 yards (8.1 ypc).  Simpson has now played in 12 games in his first three years with the Bengals and he has caught 9 passes for 156 yards (17.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Caldwell & Simpson stepped up at the perfect time as Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho Cinco are both likely on their way out of town after Sunday’s game with the Ravens.

The Bengals looked like a good football team for the second week in a row yesterday as they dominated the Chargers in the Jungle.  Carson Palmer was outstanding yesterday as he completed 16 of 21 passes for 269 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs in this game.  Cedric Benson led the way for the Bengals with 52 yards on the ground on 24 carries (2.2 ypc) and he lost a fumble.  Bernard Scott had a solid game for the Bengals with 50 yards rushing on 11 carries (4.5 ypc) with a TD run.  Little used WRs Jerome Simpson (6 rec, 124 yards, 2 TD receptions) and Andre Caldwell (4 rec, 87 yards) led the way for the Bengals in the passing game.  TE Jermaine Gresham (4 rec, 56 yards, TD) and WR Jordan Shipley (1 rec, 3 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Bengals in the passing game.  The Bengals finished up with 102 yards rushing on 38 carries (2.7 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 21 passes for 269 yards in this game. 

LB Dhani Jones (8 tackles), safety Reggie Nelson (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and CB Keiwan Ratliff (8 tackles) led the way for the Bengals’ D in this game.  LB Rey Maualuga intercepted a pass that he returned 47 yards and safety Roy Williams recovered a fumble in this game.  The Chargers finished up with 64 yards rushing on 22 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 40 passes for 249 yards.  The Bengals are now 4-11 on the year.

The Bengals snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Browns last weekend.  But they have had a rough week putting T.O. on I.R. and watching Chad Ocho Cinco and Marvin Lewis getting into it through the media.  The Chargers have won their last two games by a combined score of 65-7 and they need this game to stay alive in the playoff hunt.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are going to come out running the ball this weekend with Cedric Benson & Bernard Scott in an attempt to contol the clock and protect the football.  That will be easier said than done as the Chargers are only giving up 89.4 yards rushing per game so far this year and only 3.7 yards per carry.  The Chargers will be sending everyone after Carson Palmer (they have 44 sacks on the year) in an effort to force him into making mistakes.  The Bengals will now look towards the future with Andre Caldwell, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham in the passing game.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are going to come out passing the ball as usual.  The Bengals hope that rookie DE Carlos Dunlap will be able to get to Rivers this weekend.  If not, the Bengals are going to have a long day as they don’t have anyone to really matchup with Vincent Jackson due to his size.  Mike Tolbert, Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews will also likely cause a lot of problems for the Bengals’ D in this game.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 27, BENGALS 10

The Bengals have claimed 27-year old TE/FB Garrett Mills off waivers from the Eagles.  He played in 7 games for the Eagles this year and he caught 2 passes for 19 yards.  Mills has now played in 16 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 9 passes for 110 yards (12.2 avg).  Mills will get an audition the last two weeks for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals have placed WR Terrell Owens on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to left knee surgery.  Owens played in 14 games for the Bengals this year and he caught 72 passes for 983 yards (13.7 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Bengals’ QBs targeted Owens 139 times this year and he was happy until a couple of weeks ago when the losing finally got to him.  He threw almost everyone in the organization under the bus so I don’t see him being welcomed back to the Bengals in 2011.

The Bengals were ball hogs in this game and it was the biggest reason for a nice home win yesterday over the Browns.  Carson Palmer was a game manager yesterday as he completed 14 of 23 passes for 209 yards with 0 TD passes and more importantly 0 INTs.  Cedric Benson was a workhorse at RB yesterday with 31 carries for 150 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Bernard Scott pitched in with 40 yards rushing on 8 carries (5.0 ypc) in this game.  WR Andre Caldwell led the way in the passing game for the Bengals with 4 grabs for 89 yards (22.3 avg).  The Bengals finished up with 188 yards rushing on 45 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 23 passes for 209 yards as they had possession of the ball for 38:03.

The defense was solid for the Bengals yesterday.  Safety Roy Williams & LB Rey Maualuga led the way for the Bengals’ D yesterday with 8 tackles each.  Rookie DE Carlos Dunlap was also very effective yesterday with 2 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 3 QB hits.  The Browns finished up with 59 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 25 passes for 219 yards.  The Bengals snapped a 10-game losing streak yesterday to improve to 3-11 on the year.

The Bengals’ 10-game losing streak started in Cleveland when they lost 23-20.  The Browns have won 2 of their last three games and 4 of their last 7.  Here is a look at the matchups in the Battle of Ohio II:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The best chance the Bengals are going to have of winning this game would be by keeping the ball on the ground.  Cedric Benson & Bernard Scott should be getting the rock a lot in this game against a Browns’ D that is allowing 124.7 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  Terrell Owens had one of the best games of his life in the first matchup with the Browns this year when he caught 10 passes for 222 yards with a TD grab.  But, with Joe Haden starting in place of Eric Wright, the Browns’ secondary has really improved.  Carson Palmer has 18 interceptions already this year and so do the Browns.  That means that the O-Line needs to keep Palmer clean or he might make some big mistakes in this game.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Bengals need to go all out to stop Peyton Hillis who is the player the whole Browns’ offense revolves around.  If Hillis gets going this Sunday the Bengals are in trouble.  Colt McCoy will be starting at QB for the Browns and he likes to throw the ball deep off of playaction.  The Bengals must stop TE Ben Watson who is one of McCoy’s favorite targets. 

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 24, BENGALS 21

The Bengals have signed 29-year old cornerback Keiwan Ratliff.  Ratliff played in 8 games with the Steelers last season and he had 9 tackles.  Ratliff played for the Bengals between 2004-2007.  In those four years, Ratliff played in 51 games in which he had 102 tackles, 9 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions.  This was a smart move for the Bengals as Ratliff probably knows the playbook already.