Ravens vs Bengals: The Thrilling AFC North Rivalry You Can’t Afford to Miss 2026
Introduction
If you follow the AFC North at all, you already know that Ravens vs Bengals is never just another game on the calendar. It’s one of those rare matchups that almost always delivers something memorable — a wild comeback, a stat-stuffing performance, or a complete defensive masterclass. The Ravens vs Bengals rivalry has grown into one of the most compelling storylines in the entire NFL, and the 2025 season was absolutely no different.
In fact, the 2025 season gave us two Ravens vs Bengals matchups that couldn’t have been more different from each other. One was a Bengals blowout on Thanksgiving night. The other was a Ravens shutout that left Cincinnati completely scoreless. If that doesn’t immediately grab your attention, I don’t know what will.
In this article, you’re going to get the full breakdown — game-by-game stats, key performances, what went wrong for each team, and why this rivalry remains one of the fiercest in the AFC. Let’s get into it.
A Tale of Two Games: Ravens vs Bengals in 2025
The 2025 NFL season featured two Ravens vs Bengals showdowns, and they told completely opposite stories. Understanding both games gives you the full picture of where these franchises stood — and how wildly a rivalry can swing within a single season.
Game 1 — Thanksgiving Night: Bengals 32, Ravens 14 (November 27, 2025)
The first Ravens vs Bengals game of the season happened on Thanksgiving night, and the Bengals absolutely feasted. Cincinnati dominated from start to finish, controlling the clock with 38 minutes and 46 seconds of possession compared to Baltimore’s 21:14. That’s a massive time-of-possession gap, and it showed in every phase of the game.
Joe Burrow was efficient when it counted. He threw for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns on 46 attempts, finishing with a passer rating of 83.7. The Bengals didn’t overwhelm you with big plays — they just methodically moved the chains, converting first downs and keeping Baltimore’s offense off the field.
Evan McPherson was absolutely automatic for Cincinnati. He went a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals, including a 52-yarder in the fourth quarter. When you’re converting that kind of volume without missing a single attempt, you’re giving your team a massive safety net on drives that stall in the red zone.
Baltimore’s night was a disaster. The Ravens committed 5 turnovers — 4 lost fumbles and 1 interception. Lamar Jackson’s passer rating dropped to 65.4, and the offense converted just 53.1% of its passes. The Ravens gained 346 total yards, which isn’t terrible on paper, but 5 giveaways will get you beaten by anyone in this league, let alone a team as good as Cincinnati.
The final score of 32–14 wasn’t even close to a flattering picture for Baltimore. The Bengals earned this one convincingly.
Key Takeaway: Cincinnati’s disciplined ball control and McPherson’s flawless kicking performance were the difference makers. The Ravens simply couldn’t overcome self-inflicted mistakes on a national stage.
Game 2 — Week 15 Revenge: Ravens 24, Bengals 0 (December 14, 2025)
If the Thanksgiving game was the Bengals’ masterpiece, the Week 15 rematch was Baltimore’s answer — and it was emphatic. The Ravens traveled to Cincinnati and shut out the Bengals completely, 24–0. A total shutout in the NFL is rare. Doing it to a team quarterbacked by Joe Burrow is almost shocking.
What made this Ravens vs Bengals game so remarkable was how efficiently Baltimore won it. The Ravens only ran 40 offensive plays the entire game. They had just 20 minutes and 41 seconds of possession. And yet they scored 24 points, accumulated 317 total yards, and didn’t allow a single point.
Lamar Jackson was sharp and calculated. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns, finishing with a passer rating of 114.6. He didn’t need volume — he was just precise when he pulled the trigger. The Ravens also rushed for a massive 189 yards on 24 carries, averaging nearly 8 yards per attempt. That ground game made Cincinnati’s defense look helpless.
The Baltimore defense was the real story, though. The Ravens intercepted Joe Burrow twice, and one of those picks turned into an absolute moment — a 84-yard return for a touchdown by cornerback Kyle Van Noy, who lateralled to Anthony Gilman to complete the score. The Ravens recorded 3 sacks, hit Burrow 10 times, and held Cincinnati to just 298 total yards. Burrow’s passer rating fell to 58.2 with 2 interceptions and no touchdowns.
Cincinnati was completely shut out. Not even a field goal. That is a statement win of the highest order in a Ravens vs Bengals rivalry game.
Key Takeaway: Baltimore’s defense was suffocating, and the Ravens proved you don’t need to dominate possession to dominate a game. Efficiency over volume — and it worked perfectly.
What These Two Games Tell Us About Both Teams
The contrast between these Ravens vs Bengals matchups is genuinely fascinating. The same two rosters, six weeks apart, produced wildly different results. So what does that mean?
For the Baltimore Ravens, it tells you that this team is capable of both extremes. When they take care of the football, they’re a genuine threat to anyone in the AFC. Lamar Jackson is still one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league, and the Ravens’ rushing attack remains elite — 189 yards on 24 carries in the Week 15 shutout is a performance that most defenses simply can’t handle. But when Baltimore turns the ball over the way they did on Thanksgiving (5 turnovers), they’re beatable. The margin for error is thin at the top of the AFC.
For the Cincinnati Bengals, the season-long story is complicated. Burrow is clearly still elite — his efficiency on Thanksgiving night proved that. But the Week 15 shutout loss, combined with no touchdowns and a 58.2 passer rating, showed that when an opponent takes away Cincinnati’s rhythm, the Bengals can struggle badly. The Bengals also had 3 dropped passes in that game, which hurt Burrow’s rhythm at key moments.
The Ravens vs Bengals series this season was a dead split — 1-1. In a brutal AFC North race, those two results mattered enormously for both teams’ playoff positioning.
The Broader 2025 Season Context
Understanding Ravens vs Bengals in isolation is one thing, but you need the bigger picture to appreciate what was at stake in each game.
The Baltimore Ravens went into the 2025 season as one of the AFC’s premier franchises. They won 8 of their last 10 games shown in data, with notable victories over Minnesota (27-19), New York Jets (23-10), and that dominant 41-24 win over Green Bay. They also suffered some brutal late-season losses, including falling to the New England Patriots 28-24 and losing to Pittsburgh 26-24 in the regular season finale. The Ravens finished strong but came up short in the playoff race late.
The Bengals had a complicated year. Their Thanksgiving win over Baltimore was a highlight, but the Week 15 shutout loss stalled their momentum significantly. Division games in the AFC North are often the difference between a playoff berth and watching January football from your couch.
Lamar Jackson vs Joe Burrow: The Quarterback Battle
You can’t talk about Ravens vs Bengals without talking about the quarterbacks, because this is one of the best QB rivalries in the modern NFL.
Lamar Jackson continues to evolve as a passer while maintaining his elite rushing threat. In the Week 15 shutout game, his 114.6 passer rating on just 12 attempts showed that he’s capable of surgical efficiency when the game plan calls for it. His dual-threat ability puts defenses in an impossible position — drop too many into coverage, and the run game shreds you; stack the box, and Jackson will burn you over the top.
Joe Burrow remains a franchise cornerstone in Cincinnati. His Thanksgiving performance — 261 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, an 83.7 rating — was everything Bengals fans expect from him. But the Week 15 performance (2 INTs, 0 TDs, 58.2 rating) is a reminder that even elite quarterbacks can have ugly days when a defense brings everything they’ve got.
The Jackson vs Burrow matchup is the marquee attraction every time Ravens vs Bengals is on the schedule. If you’re not watching for the game, you’re watching for these two.
What Makes Ravens vs Bengals Such a Great Rivalry
Some rivalries are built on geography. Some are built on history. The Ravens vs Bengals rivalry is built on genuine competition — two teams that consistently challenge each other for AFC North supremacy, with quality rosters on both sides.
Here are the elements that make this matchup special every single time:
The AFC North is always a gauntlet. You’ve also got Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the mix, which means every divisional game carries enormous weight. Ravens vs Bengals games often have playoff implications baked right into them.
The Lamar vs Burrow dynamic gives casual fans a reason to tune in even if they don’t follow either team closely. Both quarterbacks have MVP-caliber talent, and watching them go head-to-head is appointment television.
The unpredictability keeps you on the edge of your seat. As this season proved, a 32-14 Bengals blowout can be followed by a 24-0 Ravens shutout six weeks later. You genuinely don’t know what version of either team you’re going to get on any given Sunday.
And finally, the physicality. This is the AFC North. Hard-nosed football is baked into the culture of this division, and Ravens vs Bengals games almost always reflect that.
Head-to-Head Recent Trend: What the Numbers Suggest
Looking at the 2025 season’s two Ravens vs Bengals games side by side gives you some interesting data points:
In the first game, Cincinnati held possession for nearly 39 minutes and outscored Baltimore 32-14. In the second game, Baltimore held possession for only 20 minutes and still won 24-0. The statistical lesson here is that turnover margin and red zone efficiency matter far more than raw yardage or time of possession. Baltimore’s 5 turnovers in Game 1 were catastrophic. Their 2 interceptions returned for yards — including that 84-yard pick-six — in Game 2 were decisive.
For both franchises, the message is clear. In a Ravens vs Bengals game, you cannot afford mental errors. Mistakes are punished at a premium by both defenses.
Final Thoughts: Why You Should Never Miss a Ravens vs Bengals Game
The Ravens vs Bengals rivalry gives you everything you could want from an NFL game. You get elite quarterback play, physical defense, high-stakes division implications, and the kind of unpredictability that makes football appointment viewing.
The 2025 season was a perfect encapsulation of what makes this matchup so compelling. A dominant Bengals performance on Thanksgiving. A complete Ravens shutout six weeks later. Neither team backing down, and neither result feeling inevitable until it was over.
If you haven’t been paying close attention to Ravens vs Bengals games, now is the time to start. The next chapter of this rivalry promises to be just as unpredictable — and just as entertaining.
What do you think — are the Ravens or the Bengals better positioned heading into the next season? Drop your take in the comments, and share this article with any AFC North fan who needs to catch up on everything that happened.
Frequently Asked Questions: Ravens vs Bengals
Q: Who won the Ravens vs Bengals game on Thanksgiving 2025? The Cincinnati Bengals won convincingly, 32–14. Evan McPherson was perfect on 6 field goal attempts, and the Bengals controlled possession for nearly 39 minutes.
Q: Did the Ravens beat the Bengals in 2025? Yes — Baltimore won the Week 15 rematch 24–0, completely shutting out the Bengals on the road. It was one of the most dominant performances in recent Ravens vs Bengals history.
Q: What was the final score in the Ravens vs Bengals Week 15 game? The final score was Ravens 24, Bengals 0. Baltimore’s defense was suffocating all game long.
Q: How did Lamar Jackson perform against the Bengals in 2025? Jackson had a rough Thanksgiving night (65.4 passer rating, 5 total turnovers as a team) but bounced back brilliantly in Week 15 with a 114.6 rating, 2 TDs, and zero turnovers.
Q: How did Joe Burrow perform in the Ravens vs Bengals games in 2025? Burrow was excellent on Thanksgiving (83.7 rating, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) but struggled badly in Week 15 (58.2 rating, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) in the shutout loss.
Q: What happened in the Ravens vs Bengals rivalry historically? The rivalry has intensified since Burrow arrived in Cincinnati in 2020. Both teams have traded wins and losses with increasing frequency, making it one of the AFC’s marquee divisional matchups.
Q: Who is the kicker for the Bengals? Evan McPherson handles kicking duties for Cincinnati. His 6-for-6 performance in the Thanksgiving game against the Ravens was one of the best individual kicking days of the 2025 season.
Q: What role does turnover margin play in Ravens vs Bengals games? It’s enormous. Baltimore’s 5 turnovers in the first game directly led to their 18-point loss. Their plus-2 turnover margin in the second game helped them win by 24 without even needing the ball very long.
Q: Is Ravens vs Bengals considered a top NFL rivalry? Absolutely. With Jackson and Burrow as the central figures, and both teams competing for AFC North supremacy annually, this is one of the most-watched divisional rivalries in modern football.
Q: When is the next Ravens vs Bengals game? The 2026 schedule has not been fully released yet. Check the official NFL schedule for exact dates and times when they become available.
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