Baltimore Ravens second-year center Tyler Linderbaum smiled at the thought of playing in prime time at M&T Bank Stadium, in the team’s all-black uniforms and against a division rival.
“All eyes are on us,” Linderbaum said Tuesday. “Ravens-Bengals.”
The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, who play each other Sunday afternoon, will be among those watching the start of a Week 11 that could go a long way toward determining the winner of the AFC North, the NFL’s best and most competitive division.
The Ravens are currently leading it at 7-3, although they’ve now dropped consecutive games to AFC North foes to fall to 2-2 in the division. The Steelers and Browns are both 6-3, yet Pittsburgh is 2-0 in divisional games while Cleveland is 2-2. The Cincinnati Bengals, the AFC North champs the past two seasons, are 5-4 overall and 0-2 in the division.
The Ravens will take the field tonight knowing that a loss to the Bengals will mean they won’t be in first place heading into Week 12. That, in itself, would be a jarring development when you consider Baltimore started divisional play with two road victories. And just 10 days ago, the Ravens were being widely touted as the best team in the NFL.
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