Two teams reeling from Sunday losses at home will try to regroup and claim a key AFC North win when the division-leading Baltimore Ravens host the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.

The Ravens (7-3) blew a golden opportunity to put more distance between themselves and the Steelers, Browns and Bengals, losing leads of 17-3 and 31-17 at home to Cleveland in a 33-31 loss. The setback snapped a four-game win streak.

Cincinnati (5-4) also had a four-game win streak snapped when they fought back from a 27-17 hole in the final three minutes, only to watch rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud lead Houston down the field for a game-winning field goal.

“We live, we grow, we get better. Every team is tested, and we’re getting tested. So I’m excited for (Thursday),” said Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, who enters Thursday just one touchdown shy of matching Todd Heap for the team’s all-time mark of 41.

The game against Cincinnati marks the end of a three-game homestand for Baltimore while Cincinnati is in a stretch of four games where Thursday is the only road contest.

Baltimore claimed a 27-24 victory at Cincinnati in Week 2.

Zay Flowers needs just one catch for 51 on the season, which would break a tie with Torrey Smith for the all-time Ravens rookie record. On defense, Ravens safety Geno Stone leads the NFL with six interceptions.

The Bengals’ defense is looking for a better effort after surrendering 17 plays of at least 20 yards in Sunday’s loss to Houston.

Both teams are also dealing with a multitude of injuries heading into a game on only three days of rest.

Ravens starting right tackle Morgan Moses (shoulder) has missed two straight games while Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey (ankle), starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee) and linebacker Trenton Simpson (concussion) left Sunday’s loss to the Browns and did not return.

“I think we’re dealing with it right now. We’ve done a good job of that,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of the injury woes. “We’ve been on the road (a lot). We’ve (played) very tough teams in very physical games, and I feel like our guys have handled it very well.

“We have to continue to do it. That’s probably the main point right now: It’s how we handle that and how we approach it. Our job is to handle it better than our opponents do.”

The Bengals lost star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson to a hyperextended left knee when Houston receiver Noah Brown rolled into him on the play before the game-winning field goal.

Hendrickson is expected to miss Thursday’s game, while Hendrickson’s bookend, edge Sam Hubbard, is dealing with a right ankle injury and missed last Sunday’s loss.

Rookie receiver Andrei Iosivas suffered a knee injury but finished the game Sunday against Houston.

The Bengals also missed the services of star receiver Tee Higgins, who is nursing a hamstring injury suffered Nov. 8 in practice. He also sat out last Sunday’s game vs. Houston.

“You’ve got to cram a whole game plan into really about two and a half days,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “And so the team’s got to understand that. We walked off the field Sunday, it was a Wednesday afternoon, post-practice is really the point of the week you’re at. And so, you’ve got to get your bodies right after a physical long game like we had.

“Baltimore had the same thing. I mean, it really similar styles of games that were just played. And our guys have to get themselves ready and our coaches have to do a good job preparing them in a short span this week.”

–Field Level Media

The Baltimore Ravens are starting to run away with the AFC North.

Baltimore is riding a four-game winning streak and will attempt to continue distancing itself from the rest of the division Sunday when it faces the visiting Cleveland Browns.

After surrendering 14 points in the fourth quarter of an ugly 17-10 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 8, the Ravens (7-2) caught fire, going on to outscore opponents 130-49 over the next four weeks.

In last Sunday’s 37-3 rout of the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore amassed 515 total yards of offense, with 298 of those coming on the ground.

Rookie Keaton Mitchell ran for 138 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while fellow running back Gus Edwards found the end zone on two of his five touches. Quarterback Lamar Jackson also got in on the action by rushing 10 times for 60 yards.

The Ravens are quickly emerging as one of the teams to beat in the AFC, but the last thing coach John Harbaugh wants is a group that starts to become complacent.

“What the standings are now are not important,” Harbaugh said. “It’s what the standings are after the last regular-season game that matter. Our guys really understand that.”

If the season were to end today, all four teams in the AFC North would secure a playoff berth, as the Browns, Steelers and Bengals are all 5-3. That makes Baltimore’s current stretch crucial, as the Ravens are set to face Cincinnati just four days after the meeting with Cleveland.

But Harbaugh insists that the Ravens are focused on the Browns and the Browns only.

“We got to take care of business. First things first. We have the Browns,” Harbaugh said. “It’s gonna be all about the Browns, and that’s it.”

Focusing solely on Cleveland is probably the right move, considering just how good the Browns’ defense has been through the first nine weeks of the season.

Cleveland allows the fewest yards per game (234.8) and third-fewest points per game (17.4) in the NFL. The only defense better? It belongs to Baltimore, which ranks second in total defense (262.6 yards allowed per game) and first in scoring defense (13.8 points allowed per game).

The Browns’ defense was at its best last weekend, shutting out the Cardinals for a 27-0 Cleveland victory. Arizona scratched across just 58 yards of total offense, the third-fewest allowed in a game in Browns’ franchise history.

It was a different story when Cleveland faced the Ravens earlier this season, though, as Baltimore rolled to a 28-3 win on Oct. 1 when Cleveland was without quarterback Deshaun Watson (shoulder).

Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. expects Sunday’s game to be much more competitive.

“We just gotta execute better. Whether it’s corrections or just being … fundamentally sound and doing what we do better, that’s just what it has to be,” Walker said. “We gotta do a much better job this game than we did the first game.”

Cleveland could be without cornerback Greg Newsome II, who missed Wednesday’s practice due to a groin injury. Offensively, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (concussion) and tight end David Njoku (knee) were among those out.

Defensive ends Ogbo Okoronkwo (groin) and Alex Wright (knee) were limited for the Browns. Watson practiced in full.

Defensive tackle Michael Pierce missed Baltimore’s Wednesday session due to an illness. Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was out, too, partly because of a knee injury.

–Field Level Media