Cam Jurgens is on track to make his Ravens debut Sunday after practicing all week, clearing concussion protocol and carrying no game-status designation. Baltimore is a new stop, but the assignment waiting for him is anything but unfamiliar.
Jurgens is expected to line up across from the Bengals’ defensive front, with Dexter Lawrence sitting in the middle as the biggest problem on the board. It’s a matchup the two have already seen plenty of times in the NFC East, back when Jurgens was with the Philadelphia Eagles and Lawrence was with the New York Giants. Now that rivalry gets a new setting in the AFC North.
For a center, there may not be a tougher draw than Lawrence. The nose tackle has built a career on wrecking pockets and clogging lanes, and his numbers show it: 33.5 career sacks, plus a fast start to 2026 with 3 sacks and 19 pressures. Jurgens knows the challenge, but he’s not walking into it blind.
Week 7 will be the fifth time the two have squared off. They met twice in 2023, once in 2024 and once in 2025.
Lawrence has finished with 2 sacks in those meetings, and both of those came in their lone 2024 matchup. He was held without a sack in the other three games.
Sacks only tell part of the story, though. Lawrence is also a force against the run, and that may matter just as much for Baltimore.
Whether Lamar Jackson or Tyler Huntley gets the start, the Ravens are likely to lean on the ground game. Jackson probably won’t be 100%, Huntley isn’t a game-changer, and Derrick Henry will need room to work against a Bengals run defense that has struggled lately.
That makes Jurgens’ performance in the middle even more important. If Lawrence starts controlling the line, Baltimore’s rushing plan gets a lot harder in a hurry. Cincinnati traded the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for Lawrence for a reason, and he can tilt a game by himself.
The size matchup is no favor to Jurgens either. He checks in at 6-foot-3 and 303 pounds, while Lawrence stands 6-foot-5 and 350.
Lawrence brings the power advantage; Jurgens has to win with quickness, angles and positioning. He’ll need to get into his spot before Lawrence can overwhelm him, and the Ravens may have to use double teams to keep the big tackle from taking over.
Baltimore has made it clear it believes in Jurgens since the acquisition. On Friday, Huntley offered his own endorsement of the 27-year-old.
Jurgens has also had extra time to settle in, missing two games since arriving in Charm City and using that stretch to study the offense and learn what it demands from him. That preparation should help him feel comfortable when the Ravens finally put him to work against Cincinnati.
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Week 7 offers a clear chance to clean that up, with Cincinnati on deck and a run defense that has struggled to slow opponents. Baltimore also should be in better shape up front, with Cam Jurgens expected to help the blocking and Vega Ioane back at guard, which gives the Ravens a cleaner path to getting Henry rolling again after a disappointing showing. [Read more 🡒]
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Mims has been one of the tougher tackles to dent early this season, which puts extra pressure on Green to win with timing, leverage and finish rather than simply trying to outmuscle him. The Ravens will need Green to find a way to create disruption anyway, whether that means varying his approach or getting help from the rest of the front. If he can turn this into a cleaner, more tactical matchup, it could go a long way toward changing the tone of his start to the season. [Read more 🡒]