A marquee AFC North showdown is heading to Sunday Night Football at M&T Bank Stadium as the Cincinnati Bengals come to town to do battle with the Baltimore Ravens. It is time to take an exclusive look at one of the biggest games of the weekend with our NFL odds series, where our Bengals-Ravens prediction and pick will be made.

Having been ten days since the Bengals last were on the football field, Cincinnati should be well-rested for the biggest game on their scheduled slate. Although they got off to a slow start to the season, the AFC Champions from a year ago have looked much improved over the past couple of weeks and could take firm control of the AFC North if they can overcome the Ravens.

In what was another gut-wrenching loss as the Ravens could not hold on to an early 20-3 lead and instead allowed Buffalo to score 20 straight points in what eventually led to Baltimore's demise. Similarly to their other loss to another AFC East squad against Miami, Baltimore also choked a large lead in that one as well. Simply put, the Ravens have at times looked like one of the top overall teams in the AFC, but their inability to finish is definitely concerning.

Here are the Bengals-Ravens NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NFL Odds: Bengals-Ravens Odds

Cincinatti Bengals: +3.5 (-118)

Baltimore Ravens: -3.5 (-104)

Over: 47.5 (-110)

Under: 47.5 (-110)

Why The Bengals Could Cover The Spread

Unlike the Ravens of late, the Bengals have been trending positively and have a tremendous opportunity in front of them ahead of this primetime matchup. At first glance, Cincinnati could match up well in the fact that the Bengals could inflict some damage in the trenches.

Even though this Bengals offense has enough weapons on the outside and vertically to shred Baltimore in the passing game, coach Zac Taylor has remained committed to running the rock. With 81 carries through the first four weeks, RB Joe Mixon is certainly getting his fair share of what he can do. Last week, Mixon was bottled up for only 61 yards on 24 carries, but a Ravens' shaky run defense that is allowing nearly 110 rushing yards per game could present the former Oklahoma standout halfback with a big-time performance.

Outside of the Bengals wanting to stay with the running game to cover the spread, be on the lookout for WR Ja'Marr Chase to finally have the breakout game that he has been seeking all year long. In addition, the Ravens' defense has not performed well versus top wideouts thus far, as they have surrendered 106 yards to top pass-catching targets.

Cincinnati is also only letting the opposition rush for 85 yards per game, so something will have to give against a Baltimore squad that loves to pound the rock.

Why The Ravens Could Cover The Spread

Without a doubt, few could argue that this Ravens team has the makings of being the last team standing in an ultra-competitive AFC. Despite the season being very young, Baltimore needs to figure out how to keep its foot on the gas. Not to mention, counting out someone like Joe Burrow and his cast of lethal weapons is the last thing the Ravens can afford to do in this one.

The best chance that the Ravens have to cover the spread in front of their home fans comes in the form of the one and only Lamar Jackson. Accounting for 80% of his team's 1,437 net yards, there hasn't been a player quite like “Action Jackson” who is as electric on the gridiron since maybe Michael Vick. Even then, Jackson already has an MVP trophy to his name which is something that Vick was never able to accomplish. No question, the Ravens will go as far as their star field general will take them, as he holds the key to covering the spread versus Cincinnati.

The one thing that may come back to bite Baltimore will be the injury bug piling up within this locker room. Over the week, WR Rashod Bateman, RB Justice Hill, LB Justin Houston, and CB Marcus Peters are all expected to miss this weekend's contest which could prove to be too great of a hill to climb if the Ravens' depth is tested at any point on Sunday night.

Like previously stated, this Ravens defense has allowed far more yards than they would've liked at this point and desperately need a pick-me-up game to instill some sort of confidence. This is a unit that has surrendered 437 yards of offense per game and cannot afford to be lackluster versus a high-flying offense.

Final Bengals-Ravens Prediction & Pick

In what has been one of the NFL's greatest rivalries over the past several seasons, bad blood is almost bound to occur under the lights. Many see this game as a toss-up, but it will be the Ravens' resilience down the stretch that will prove to be the biggest X-factor.

Final Bengals-Ravens Prediction & Pick: Ravens -3.5 (-104)