Cincinnati (3-8) at Baltimore (6-5)
Thursday 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC
BetMGM NFL Odds: Ravens by 7.
Against the spread: Bengals 4-7; Ravens 4-7.
Series record: Ravens lead 32-27.
Last meeting: Ravens beat Bengals 35-34 on Nov. 7, 2024, at Baltimore.
Last week: Bengals lost to Patriots 26-20; Ravens beat Jets 23-10.
Bengals offense: overall (23), rush (30), pass (14), scoring (T-18).
Bengals defense: overall (32), rush (32), pass (31), scoring (32).
Ravens offense: overall (21), rush (6), pass (29), scoring (10).
Ravens defense: overall (24), rush (20), pass (24), scoring (20).
Turnover differential: Bengals minus-7; Ravens even.
QB Joe Burrow returns to the lineup after missing nine games because of a turf toe injury. The six-year veteran is 3-6 in starts against the Ravens with three of his five highest-yardage games coming against Baltimore. He passed for 428 yards and four touchdowns in last season’s Thursday night matchup in Baltimore, but was unable to complete a pass for a 2-point conversion late in the game as the Ravens held on for a one-point win.
QB Lamar Jackson missed time with a hamstring injury earlier this season. Since then he's been able to play despite ankle, knee and toe issues. But he hasn't been much of a running threat and Baltimore's offense still doesn't look right. Can Jackson get it going against a weak Cincinnati defense?
Ravens RB Derrick Henry vs. Bengals Defense: The Bengals are ranked 31st in the league run defense, allowing 156 yards per game. Henry is tied for sixth in the league with 871 yards. He has 665 yards after contact this season, sixth most in the NFL. The Bengals have allowed 1,059 rushing yards after contact to running backs, second most behind only the Bills (1,099).
Bengals: WR Tee Higgins (concussion), DE Trey Hendrickson (hip) and RB Tahj Brooks (concussion) have been ruled out. Ravens: WR Rashod Bateman (ankle) did not play last weekend. He was limited at practice this week. S Kyle Hamilton (ankle) was limited at practice this week as well. RB Justice Hill (neck) missed practice time this week.
The Bengals beat Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs three seasons ago. Since then, the Ravens have taken all four meetings, three by three points or fewer. ... Cincinnati WR Ja’Marr Chase had 21 receptions (10 in Week 5 and 11 in Week 10) for 457 yards (193 in Week 5 and 264 in Week 10) and five touchdowns (two in Week 5 and three in Week 10) against Baltimore last season, the most yards receiving by a player against an opponent in a season in NFL history. ... Burrow's career passer rating against the Ravens, including playoffs, is 104.3. Jackson's against the Bengals is 104.5.
The Bengals have lost four straight, marking the fourth time in Zac Taylor’s seven-year tenure they have had a skid of at least four games. … This is the second time Cincinnati has played on Thanksgiving, It lost at the New York Jets 26-10 in 2010. … Burrow has passed for at least 350 yards and three touchdowns in three of his past four games in prime time. … RB Chase Brown has at least 100 yards from scrimmage in five straight games, the longest active streak in the league. He has scored a touchdown in two straight games against the Ravens. … Bengals LB Demertrius Knight Jr. is second among rookies with 78 tackles. … Cincinnati LB Barrett Carter has at least 10 tackles in four games this season. … S Geno Stone, who spent his first four seasons with Baltimore, had his second career pick-6 last week along with a career-high 13 tackles for the Bengals. … Cincinnati CB DJ Turner leads the league with 15 passes defensed. … Bengals K Evan McPherson set a franchise record with a 63-yard field goal on the last play of the first half last week. ... After a 1-5 start, the Ravens have won five in a row to pull into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the AFC North. ... Baltimore has held six straight opponents under 20 points, the longest active streak in the NFL. ... The Ravens are 22-4 in home prime-time games under coach John Harbaugh, although that includes a loss to Detroit earlier this season. ... Baltimore's Mark Andrews needs three receptions to pass Derrick Mason (471) for the franchise's career record. ... Henry needs 19 yards rushing to pass Hall of Famer Jim Brown (12,312) for 11th on the career list. ... DeAndre Hopkins of the Ravens needs one catch to reach 1,000. ... Baltimore P Jordan Stout is first in the league in net average (46.2) and second in gross average (51.4). ... Ravens DB Marlon Humphrey has 17 career forced fumbles, including a big one near the goal line last weekend.
The Ravens have struggled in the red zone, but against the Cincinnati defense they could get plenty of chances. Henry, Andrews and Bateman (if healthy) are the ones to watch.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) shakes hands with wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) after scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Joey Logano won the Cup Series race Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, while the driver he passed for the win stole the show with old-school NASCAR feuding and fisticuffs.
Carson Hocevar, a brash 23-year-old who has earned the ire of veteranswith his aggressive driving, traded punches in the pits with Ryan Blaney after they were involved in an incident while racing for second with 41 laps left.
Hocevar stopped his car after finishing third and was greeted by a shove from Blaney.
The 6-foot-4 Hocevar, who stands several inches taller than Blaney, responded with two overhand rights. The first knocked off Blaney’s hat, and the second connected with Blaney’s left cheek.
Blaney fell to the pavement and then scrambled to his feet and out of a crew member’s hold while Hocevar raised his arms and pointed at him. Blaney charged and threw a wild left that knocked off Hocevar’s hat. They then were separated by team members as Blaney continued to yell at Hocevar.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of talking,” Hocevar said. “He just kind of said one thing and then went after me, and I wasn’t going to take it. I got ran into a lot for the win. That was for second, and he wants to come fight. They got an old-school Bristol show here.”
The contact between the drivers started shortly after Blaney took second with an outside pass of Hocevar, who immediately slid his No. 77 Chevrolet down the track. Blaney moved low to block, and Hocevar stayed in the accelerator to knock the No. 12 Ford into a spin that ended in the inside wall.
“I don’t know what I did wrong there," Hocevar said. "I crossed him over and looked like he spun himself, and then he wants to instigate a fight. I was going to finish that, and it seemed like the crowd was pretty pumped up, so I was going to play the audience for a second.”
Blaney, who led a race-high 202 laps despite starting 29th, was already frustrated after falling into heavy traffic because of a penalty for a pit lane violation with just over 100 laps remaining. His rally was cut short by the crash that dropped him to sixth in the Chase standings with his second consecutive finish outside the top 30.
In an interview during the race, Blaney said, “I tried to protect the bottom, he crossed and never lifted, and I got crashed.”
When asked which driver was at fault, Blaney said, “I don’t (expletive) know. Each person is going to say they did nothing wrong.”
Kyle Larson finished second to move into the Chase lead by a point over Denny Hamlin. Christopher Bell was fourth, followed by Ty Gibbs, who led 120 laps before finishing fifth.
Gibbs and Hocevar exchanged the lead four times in the final 100 laps. Their battle for first after a restart with nine laps remaining opened the door for Logano, who zipped past Hocevar and led the final seven laps.
With his 40th career victory and third this season, Logano became the winningest NASCAR driver for Team Penske and moved into third place in the Chase points standings.
But he realized all of those accomplishments would be eclipsed by videos of the Blaney-Hocevar fight that he still had yet to see.
“I’m sure I’ll see it all week long,” Logano said, pausing to add with a laugh. “They’ll probably forget who won the race.”
Gibbs was driving a No. 54 Toyota that sported a paint scheme honoring the late Kyle Busch, who had a record 23 wins in NASCAR national series at Bristol. It was among multiple tributes to the Richard Childress Racing driver who died in May.
Fans waved yellow towels on the 18th lap in honor of Busch, who won two Cup Series championships in the No. 18 Toyota. His widow, Samantha, addressed the crowd before the race.
“Bristol was always so special to Kyle,” Samantha Busch said. “He loved racing under the lights, the energy of this place, and most of all, the fans. For 20 years, this sport was our life. It’s where we raised our babies and made some of our very best memories. I never imagined we’d be standing here without him. But looking out at all of you reminds me that we aren’t walking this alone.”
In its federal lawsuit that accuses Spire Motorsports of cheating by using stolen intellectual property, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a motion Thursday claiming that Spire and chief motorsports officer Chris Gabehart violated a temporary restraining order and should be held in contempt. A federal judge ruled in March that Gabehart can work for Spire but not in the competition director role he was in while with Joe Gibbs Racing last season.
Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson responded to the motion in a statement Friday night. “JGR does not get to control what other race teams do through court cases,” Dickerson said. “JGR does not own tire pressures, JGR does not own the people who work in this industry, and JGR does not own Spire. Spire looks forward to responding to JGR’s motion in court. To be clear, months of discovery have shown that Spire Motorsports has done nothing wrong.”
The NASCAR Cup Series will begin a stretch of three consecutive races on 1.5-mile ovals with Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 27. Tyler Reddick won the April 19 race at the track in Kansas City, Kansas.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Joey Logano (22) celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
A fan holds up a yellow towel on the 18th lap to honor the late Kyle Busch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Joey Logano (22) leads Austin Cindric (2) and Alex Bowman during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Ty Gibbs (54), in the throwback M&M's car honoring the late Kyle Busch, leads Ryan Preece and Connor Zilisch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
