Three keys to Bengals vs. Ravens that lead to Cincinnati taking the AFC North lead

The Cincinnati Bengals will be playing in another electric atmosphere on Sunday night when they travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens for NBC's "Sunday Night Football" at M&T Bank Stadium.

It's a big game for both teams. The Ravens are coming off two home losses and the Bengals are looking to take the lead in the AFC North. After dropping the Week 1 season-opener to the Steelers, Cincinnati needs to start stacking wins in the division.

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The matchup between the Ravens and Bengals is highlighted by the two star quarterbacks: Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson. It appears football fans can count on this game being one of the more entertaining games for the foreseeable future given the ages of Jackson and Burrow.

Here's what the Bengals must do to beat the Ravens and improve to 3-2 on the year:

Don't turn the ball over

The Ravens are one of the best teams in the league in taking the ball away. They are tied for first in the NFL with 10 takeaways. Since the Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh when Burrow threw four interceptions, Cincinnati's QB 1 has done a much better job of taking care of the ball. The less opportunities Jackson is on the field, the better for the Bengals. Burrow said the Ravens' defensive backs play with a lot of confidence and will try and force him to make throws in tight windows. How risky can Burrow be? We'll see. In order to win in Baltimore, unleashing the explosive passing attack could certainly help. Burrow just has to find the right mix of when he needs to throw the ball away and when he can take some risks.

Force Lamar Jackson to beat you with his arm, not his legs

Jackson is one of one at his position. There's no one in the NFL who can run the ball like he can and pass as well as he can. He's the ultimate dual-threat quarterback and Baltimore's offense is tailored around his ability to do both. When the Bengals were successful in 2021 against Jackson, it was because they got pressure on him and contained him in the pocket. Cincinnati's defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's game plan worked beautifully as the Bengals hit Jackson seven times and sacked him five times. If he gets out the pocket, that's when he can do the most damage with his feet.

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To put into perspective how good of a runner Jackson is, he has more rushing yards (316) on fewer carries (37) than Bengals’ Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon who has 221 yards on 82 attempts.

The Ravens feed off Jackson’s energy and if he’s able to gash the Bengals on a few designed runs, they are a hard team to beat when playing with confidence.

Get off to another fast start

Cincinnati is a much better offense when they get in rhythm early in the game. It’s evident when you look at how their two wins, against the Jets and Dolphins, unfolded. When they haven’t, the offense has often looked disoriented. If the Bengals can build a lead on the Ravens in front of their crowd, especially through the air, the Bengals should be too much for Baltimore to handle offensively. The Ravens are giving up the most passing yards of any team in the NFL currently, and Cincinnati should use that to its advantage early on.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What Bengals must do to beat Ravens on Sunday Night Football