GoJo and Golic preview Thursday Night Football: Can the Ravens take care of business vs. the Bengals?

It’s Thursday and you know what that means — it’s time for another Thursday Night Football preview with Mike Golic Jr. and Mike Golic Sr.!

GoJo notes that both teams are limping into this one a bit, with Tee Higgins notably out once again this week. GoJo says he leans pretty squarely in favor of the Ravens in this one, especially when you look at what they’ve been able to do to Joe Burrow in the past, with two of his three worst games in QB rating last year coming against Baltimore.

Senior also points out that the Ravens are No. 1 in the NFL in explosive plays while the Bengals give up the most so you wonder if big plays will hit for Baltimore. Senior also highlights the growing trend of seeing six men on the line of scrimmage with some then dropping back into coverage for a standard four-man rush in an attempt to confuse the offense. GoJo notes it’s like a bait-and-switch, as you’re trying to confuse the offensive live and freeze the quarterback a little bit. So even when you’re dealing with a healthy Joe Burrow, when you’re able to make that guy think a little bit and present something one way before completely changing it and going another, you can find a matchup that swings the balance of power.

On the other side, GoJo notes that Houston was able to run all over the Bengals and no disrespect to the Texans, but they’ve been a bottom-dweller rushing team for most this season. The Ravens, in addition to Lamar Jackson and Gus Edwards, have recently unlocked Keaton Mitchell. GoJo says the undrafted rookie has become a sparkplug for this offense with great home run speed and he assumes the Ravens will find a way to get this guy the football more this week. Mitchell has some of the juice that GoJo thinks the Ravens offense can benefit from. Meanwhile, Senior points out that Jackson has won seven of eight career starts against the Bengals.

GoJo notes that the Ravens are 3.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook and he’s inclined to take Baltimore and give the points even though the AFC North is a place you normally don’t want to do that. Senior agrees, and says he’s also leaning Baltimore’s way.

Meanwhile, Thursday was National Fast Foot Day and the Golics debated an important topic: Is Chipotle fast food?

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Hour 1: Welcoming another Golic Grandbaby, Draymond’s Suspension + Arizona Football Coach Jedd Fisch on their rise in the CFP Rankings, preparing for Utah, & QB Noah Fifita

VIDEO:

Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show will also be available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.

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