Why the Bengals will face a unique challenge against the Ravens on Sunday

The Cincinnati Bengals will play a Baltimore Ravens team that will be without former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. Despite not having Jackson, the Ravens will still present a unique challenge for Cincinnati on Sunday night in the first round of the playoffs. That's because Baltimore is planning on going with a two-headed monster at quarterback […]

Zach Ragan Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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The Cincinnati Bengals will play a Baltimore Ravens team that will be without former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

Despite not having Jackson, the Ravens will still present a unique challenge for Cincinnati on Sunday night in the first round of the playoffs.

That's because Baltimore is planning on going with a two-headed monster at quarterback against the Bengals.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday morning that Baltimore is planning to use both Tyler Huntley and undrafted rookie Anthony Brown on Sunday night.

From ESPN:

With Lamar Jackson sidelined, the Baltimore Ravens are preparing to go with an unusual strategy at quarterback to start the playoffs.

The Ravens are planning to use both of their quarterbacks — banged-up backup Tyler Huntley and undrafted rookie Anthony Brown — in Sunday night's wild-card game against the Cincinnati Bengals, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Bengals
Dec 24, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (2) calls a play at the line during the game against the Atlanta Falcons at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

This setup could certainly cause some issues for the Cincy defense — mostly because they'll likely see a lot of stuff from Baltimore's offense that they haven't seen on tape.

One thing, however, that works to the Bengals' advantage is that when Brown is in the game, the quarterback run won't be as likely. Brown had zero rush attempts against the Bengals last week.

Huntley, however, is more of a threat to run the ball. Playing two quarterbacks will help the Ravens mix up their offensive looks and cause some confusion for the Bengals. That might be the only way the Ravens can pull the upset.

It'll be interesting to see how Baltimore actually utilizes their quarterbacks after this report surfaced on Sunday morning. I'm sure Cincinnati's coaching staff is spending the early part of the day on Sunday working on different ways to attack the Ravens' offense.

Featured image via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports