Many thought that when Coach Billick fired his buddy Jim Fassel that it was a panic move orchestrated by a coach that was feeling some heat.  There might be some truth is that thinking, but Billick just got back to the basics and his football team has responded.  The Ravens are 5-0 since he took over the play-calling and the Ravens have averaged 27.8 points in those games.

The Ravens defense also deserves some of the credit for the Ravens sudden rise as they’ve given up only 15.6 points per game since Billick started calling the offensive plays. 

The Ravens are also +15 in turnover margin, which is pretty impressive at this point in the season.

The Bengals have played really well the last two weeks and need a win badly to make up ground in the division against the Ravens.  The Bengals have outscored their opponents 61-16 the last two weeks.  The Ravens have won 5 in a row, including an absolute thrashing of the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.  The Ravens can seal the AFC North Championship with a victory tonight.

The Bengals will probably attempt to run Rudi Johnson (890 yards rushing) at the Ravens rough run defense that allows only 76.5 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry.  The Bengals have to run the ball some to slow the Ravens pass rush that had 9 sacks last week against the Steelers.  If Carson Palmer has time, he should be effective at moving the ball around among his great receiving corps. 

When the Ravens have the football, look for them to attack the Bengals soft run defense that has allowed 116.6 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry.  Since Brian Billick took over the play-calling, the Ravens are 5-0 and have averaged 27.8 points per game.  Jamal Lewis (735 yards rushing) should have little problem getting his yards this week.  Steve McNair has played really well of late, but he must be careful with the football as the Bengals have been picking off alot of passes lately.

I like the Bengals to rise up in the Jungle and turn the tables on the Ravens who beat them 26-20 earlier in the season.

The Ravens might have dealt the defending Champs the knock-out punch on Sunday.  The Ravens completely dominated the Steelers in all facets of the football game.

Steve McNair looked sharp as he completed 18 of 24 passes for 140 yards and a TD.  Jamal Lewis had a solid game with 17 carries for 66 yards (3.9 ypc) and a TD.  Todd Heap had a solid game with 7 receptions for 58 yards and a TD.  Derrick Mason pitched in with 5 receptions for 43 yards.

The defense was downright awesome for the Ravens.  The Ravens sacked Roethlisberger 9 times, picked him off twice and made him lose a fumble!   Ray Lewis led the way with 5 tackles and a sack.  Terrell Suggs added 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  DE Trevor Pryce had 2 sacks.  LB Bart Scott was all over the place as he had 2 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception.  Adalius Thomas added 3 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery that he returned 57 yards for a TD!  The Ravens held the vaunted Steelers running game to 21 yards on 11 carries (1.9 ypc).  The Steelers completed 22 of 42 passes for 151 net yards passing.

The Ravens improved to 9-2 on the season.

The Ravens dominated this football game in the second half , out-scoring the Falcons 24-3 after halftime.  Steve McNair had a solid game as he completed 24 of 34 passes for 236 yards passing.  Jamal Lewis had a good game as he carried the ball 22 times for 91 yards (4.1 ypc) and 3 TDs. Todd Heap had a solid game with 6 receptions for 62 yards and Mark Clayton had a good game with 5 receptions for 89 yards.

The defense had a solid game led by DE Trevor Pryce who had 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Falcons ran the ball 25 times for 104 yards (4.2 ypc).  The Falcons only completed 11 of 21 passes for 82 net yards passing.

The Ravens improved to 9-2 after their demolition of the Falcons.