Primetime Thanksgiving Showdown in the AFC North
The 3-8 Bengals will travel to Baltimore for their first matchup of 2025 against the 6-5 Ravens on Thursday, November 27th, 2025. The Ravens, who just came off a 23-10 home win over the New York Jets, will look to extend their win streak to six games against a team that just lost a close battle against the Patriots, who currently sit as the first seed in the AFC. The Bengals are not out of the playoff race just yet, but a loss on Thursday will add traffic to their road to the 2025 Postseason. The Ravens, who are in control of their own destiny, currently sit in first place of the AFC North, holding a divisional tiebreaker over the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. There are plenty of storylines to analyze before this primetime matchup, so let's get right into it.
Playoff Implications
As I previously mentioned, the Ravens control their destiny as they hold a tiebreaker over the Steelers, who have the same record. While the Ravens and Steelers have yet to play either of their two 2025 matchups, the tiebreaker comes down to their divisional records. The Ravens are 2-0 within the AFC North after completing the sweep of the Browns, and the Steelers dropped an early-season game to the Bengals, making their record 2-1. If the Ravens were to lose on Thursday, the in-divisional record would be the same, so the tiebreaking procedures would then go to the record in common games. Right now, the Ravens are 4-2 in common games, with the Packers and Patriots left on the slate, while the Steelers are 3-2 with the Bills on deck for Week 13 and the Dolphins and Lions in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively. There is a lot of football left to play that would decide this divisional race, so it is just too early to tell.
As for Cincinnati, they sit tied for third in the AFC North with the Browns at 3-8, but there is one huge difference. Joe Burrow is slated to return from his turf toe injury suffered in Week Two. Even with Burrow back in the lineup, the Bengals would need to gain three games' worth of ground on both the Steelers and Ravens to win the division. The Bengals could also make a wild-card if some AFC contenders lose on top of some Cincinnati wins. It seems like a tall task for the Bengals, but they are technically still playoff hopefuls.
Injury Updates
With both teams on short weeks, a true injury report at this point would only be an estimation. While there has been no official word from Bengals’ head coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals expect Joe Burrow to play on Thursday, marking his first in-game snaps since exiting in the second quarter of the Week Two win over the Jaguars. Burrow’s return has already lifted the spirits of the locker room in Cincinnati, but there may be some rust for the returning star QB. If Burrow does not play, Joe Flacco would most likely get the start despite dealing with a shoulder injury. Ja’Marr Chase will return to action after serving his one-game suspension for spitting on Jalen Ramsey, but Tee Higgins will not suit up after suffering a concussion in the loss to New England, requiring him to be carted off the field. Samaje Perine, Cam Taylor-Britt, Trey Hendrickson, and Cam Sample were some who did not practice all last week, putting their availability for Thursday in jeopardy.
For Baltimore, there were some scares in the win against the Jets. Lamar Jackson took another beating behind his vulnerable offensive line, but the true story to watch is Baltimore’s star safety, Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton looked beat up in the win over the Browns in Week 11, listed on the injury report as questionable with a groin and shoulder injury. Hamilton played in Week 12, but was then helped off the field once with what looked like an elbow injury. While Hamilton returned, he would exit a few quarters later with an apparent ankle/foot injury, leaving the safety visibly angered. While Ravens’ coach John Harbaugh said it does not seem like a long-term issue, if the Ravens are without Hamilton, Baltimore would lose a Swiss Army Knife who can disrupt pass protection, cover anyone, and tackle in the open field. Marlon Humphrey returned to action against the Jets with his finger heavily wrapped, but WR Rashod Bateman did not practice leading up to the Jets game, again, putting his Week 13 status in doubt.
Baltimore is Hot, but it Feels Cold
The game-time temperature is set to be around 35 degrees, but this is not the temperature I want to discuss. Even though the Ravens are on a five-game win streak, people are not looking at the quality of these opponents. Granted, the Bears are fighting in a tough NFC North, but then the Ravens faced the Dolphins, Vikings, Browns, and Jets, who have a combined 2025 record of 13-31. In each of these games, the Ravens struggled early, failing to score more than 10 first-half points in all but one game, but then averaged 17 points per game in the second half. The main culprit is the offense. It is no secret that the Ravens have struggled in goal-to-go and short-yardage situations, while rarely trying for the deep ball. The offensive line is unable to protect Lamar for longer than two seconds or create a running lane for Derrick Henry, which is the entire game plan for the Ravens. On the other hand, the Baltimore defense has posted great numbers since Week Eight, but again, these opposing offenses are not playoff caliber. The pass rush feels non-existent, even after the trade for Dre’Mont Jones, heavily relying on the bend-don’t-break theory and turnovers caused by the secondary. Even if the Ravens make the playoffs as a fourth seed, they could be victim of a first-round exit. The Ravens need to get wins under their belt, but the quality wins will prove who the 2025 Ravens are.
Classic Shootout on Thanksgiving? Or Another Bland Primetime Game?
The talk of the town is that the last two times the Ravens played the Bengals, they were both offensive masterclasses with Game of the Year qualities. The combined score of both games was 148, with both teams scoring more than 34 points in each game. While both teams were firing on all cylinders in each matchup, the 2025 versions of the Ravens and Bengals seem much more stagnant. The Ravens appear more like prey than predators, and the Bengals' defense did not improve since last year, allowing 32.7 points per game. Even with both defenses struggling, the offenses have not been able to capitalize against other inferior defenses. As for my prediction, this divisional matchup feels like the perfect formula for a game to end in a 27-20 win for the Ravens, wearing their Purple Rising Jersey and Helmet, but it could also feel like a fingernails-on-a-chalkboard type of game the entire time. Tune into NBC or Peacock for a special Thanksgiving Sunday Night Football broadcast at 8:20 p.m. EST on November 27th, 2025.
