He spoke with Cincinnati-area media in a conference call Wednesday. Here are five things he said about the matchup:
1. Close matchup
Harbaugh has come to expect tight games against the Bengals, but his team has to find a way to win one of them.
The first matchup this year was close until the Bengals kicked a field goal with 2:59 left, then got the ball back seven seconds later on Shawn Williams’ sack that forced Joe Flacco to fumble. Cincinnati added another field goal that drive to seal the 34-23 win for Cincinnati.
“It’s always tough,” We have tremendous respect for the Bengals, coach Lewis and their staff and what they do, all their players. They have tremendous playmakers, it’s just been great. We’ve unfortunately had a lot of one-score games and we’ve lost some of those games in some tough ways at the end of games at times because their guys make plays. I can probably tick them off the top of my head. We give them a lot of credit for that, and we just have to find a way to win one here.”
2. Bengals offense still worrisome
The Bengals are definitely “different” without Green, Harbaugh said, but they still have potential to make a lot of plays without him.
“Obviously, he’s a great player,” Harbaugh said. “They have guys, though, that step up and make plays. Tyler Boyd I think is doing a great job, the tight ends are really stepping up and probably opening a lot of eyes. Obviously, (Joe) Mixon has taken it to another level. You always have to worry about Giovani (Bernard), he does a great job. (John) Ross is a threat to take it off the top and deep over routes. And of course, I think Andy Dalton is a guy that just plays well. He does a great job, he gets the ball out, he runs the offense well. He’s made so many plays against us over the years. We have a lot of respect for those guys.”
3. Lewis calling the defense adds a challenge
The Ravens don’t quite know what to expect from a Marvin Lewis-run defense, which adds another wrinkle into their preparation.
“He’s a great football coach,” Harbaugh said. “That’s just something we have to contend with. We have to deal with the fact coach Lewis is going to be running the defense, and we don’t know what that’s going to look like exactly. We do know he’s a great coach, and the emphasis certainly is going to be on fundamentals and playing hard and things like that. I don’t think the structure will change dramatically but you never know, and he’s got a big, deep playbook of blitzes and things like that to pull from so we have to be prepared for a lot of things. It’s a big challenge for our offense.”
4. Quarterback situation in the air
Harbaugh told media in Baltimore earlier this week that he wouldn’t decide on his starting quarterback until Sunday because injured Joe Flacco (hip) could still play even without practicing all week. If he’s not ready to go, Lamar Jackson is next in line and Robert Griffin III is also on the roster.
“That is an asset,” Harbaugh said. “We haven’t done that (carry three quarterbacks) for many years and we did it this year more than anything because we had three quarterbacks that were worthy of that. With the situation with Joe, I think that’s paid off for us now.”
5. Numbers don’t lie
The Ravens’ defense ranks second in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) and total yards allowed (305.0 yards per game), and Harbaugh said they are playing as well as the numbers say. The only thing they need to work on is forcing more turnovers, which was a strength last year and has been a big factor in games against the Bengals in the past.
Baltimore is minus-4 in turnover margin, which ranks 23rd. The Bengals are plus-2.
“That’s probably the thing that’s been the biggest detraction for our defense,” Harbaugh said. “It’s something we really want to turn around. It’s something that is tough to do against the Bengals but that’s something that could make a big difference if we could do that.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at Ravens, 1 p.m., WHIO-TV Ch. 7, Ch. 12, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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