Roquan Smith has played the Cincinnati Bengals just three times as a Raven — a big enough sample, apparently, for the All-Pro inside linebacker to come away with a table-setting conclusion.

“Truth be told, they don’t like us, and we don’t like them,” Smith said Thursday as the Ravens prepared for Sunday’s divisional opener in Cincinnati. How can he tell?

“Just watch the tape,” Smith said. “Across the board, since I’ve been here, it’s been that way. But, at the end of the day, it’s a game that has to be played, and we’re excited about it, and I’m sure they’re excited about it as well. So it will be a great game.”

And an important one. After a dominant win Sunday over the Buffalo Bills, the Ravens (2-2) are again the clear favorites to win the AFC North, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. The Bengals (1-3), meanwhile, a popular dark-horse Super Bowl pick, are two games behind the division-leading Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1), facing an uphill climb to avenge last year’s postseason absence.

The AFC North’s top two quarterbacks will take center stage at Paycor Stadium. The Ravens have dominated Cincinnati when quarterback Lamar Jackson has been healthy, losing just once with Jackson starting. But Sunday’s game will mark a new chapter in the rivalry for the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, too. Here’s what to watch in the teams’ Week 5 matchup.

1. Running back Derrick Henry’s quest for 10,000 career rushing yards has become a matter of when, not if.

After running for a combined 350 yards in wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Bills, Henry enters Week 4 with 9,982 in his career. He would become the 32nd player in NFL history to reach 10,000, joining former Ravens running backs Jamal Lewis (10,607) and Ricky Williams (10,009), and the 21st player to do so within the first nine seasons of his career.

Henry shouldn’t have trouble getting 18 yards Sunday. Or 118, even. The Bengals rank a respectable 18th in the NFL in rushing average (4.4 yards per carry allowed) and a less respectable 25th in total rushing defense (145.5 yards per game). But their 48.6% success rate on designed runs — a measure of how often plays led to positive expected points added for the defense — is not only the worst in the NFL but also the lowest of any team over the past decade, according to TruMedia.

Cincinnati’s run defense has had bright moments, though. In a Week 3 loss to the Washington Commanders, a team with strong run blocking and an athletic quarterback in Jayden Daniels, the Bengals held Washington to 108 rushing yards (3.4 per carry). Cincinnati and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo also have familiarity with defending Jackson and the Ravens’ read-option attack.

“They’re a solid team, got good players across the board,” running back Justice Hill said Wednesday. “And, for us, we’re just going to go out and execute our plan. I feel like, if we go out and execute the way we’ve been doing and continue to just get better on the things that we didn’t [execute], we’ll have a good game.”

2. Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley has aced every test he’s faced in this prove-it season. Reliable? He’s played every offensive snap. Consistent? He’s first among tackles in ESPN’s pass block win rate. Productive? He hasn’t allowed a sack, according to Pro Football Focus.

“He’s really having a good year, and he’s got a lot of football left in him,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “I expect him to keep improving. I think he’s going to keep on the rise. His level of play has just been going like this” — he gestured upward — “and it’s fun to see, both run and pass.”

Stanley’s biggest, most consistent challenge could come Sunday. Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who has a team-high three sacks and 15 pressures this season, is third in ESPN’s pass rush win rate (34%), which measures how often a pass rusher beats his block within 2.5 seconds.

Hendrickson had a sack and three pressures over Cincinnati’s two losses to the Ravens last season, but Stanley missed both games because of injuries. Stanley should see a lot of the three-time Pro Bowl selection Sunday. Hendrickson has lined up on the right side of the Bengals’ line on all but two of his defensive snaps this season, according to PFF.

“He’s a good player,” Stanley said Thursday. “He’s a leader for that whole defense, and I expect it to be a battle for the whole game.”

3. The Ravens have the NFL’s most efficient offense through four weeks, according to FTN, but their instability up front and run-centric approach have had an interesting casualty: the number of targets available for quarterback Lamar Jackson.

According to TruMedia, just 51.2% of the Ravens’ pass plays this season have had five receivers running routes, the NFL’s third-lowest rate. The league average is 62%.

Offensive coordinator Todd Monken should have good reason to adopt a more dynamic approach Sunday. Outside of Hendrickson, the Bengals’ pass rush isn’t very good. Cincinnati ranks 28th in pressure rate, according to PFF, and 29th in sack rate.

Rather than blitzing more (25th-highest rate in the NFL), Anarumo has leaned on an unproductive front. The only Cincinnati defenders with more than half a sack this season are Hendrickson and cornerback Dax Hill (one). Among the 197 NFL defenders with 30 pass rush snaps this season, Hendrickson is the only Bengal who ranks inside the top 110 in win rate, according to PFF. Fellow starting defensive end Sam Hubbard is 189th.

“The more you’re able to run it, stay out of the chains, not be in second-and-long, get back on track — and then third-and-long, you avoid those issues” in pass protection, Monken said Thursday. “It’s a long season, and certainly our guys are going to continue to get better. [Rookie right tackle] Roger [Rosengarten] is going to continue to get better. [Swing lineman] Pat [Mekari] did a great job at left guard or wherever we needed him. That’s going to continue to be something that we’re going to have to continue to do, and matchups create that — certain matchups when you play teams.”

4. If Ravens rookie Nate Wiggins needs an explainer on what it’s like facing Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase for the first time, there are worse resources than fellow cornerback Marlon Humphrey.

Chase had eight catches on 10 targets for 201 yards in his first game in Baltimore three years ago, a 41-17 blowout win. Chase beat Humphrey for at least four catches, including a quick hitter the then-rookie took for an 82-yard catch-and-run score.

“You’ve got to win those matchups,” Humphrey said Wednesday. “I think the biggest task this week defensively will be our DBs versus their wide receivers. It’s a tough task, but that’s the biggest thing. Joe Burrow is a top quarterback in this league, obviously. When he gets going, as we said in the defense, he’s kind of surgical.”

Humphrey could see plenty of Chase on Sunday, but Wiggins also figures to match up against the Bengals’ leading receiver (300 receiving yards in 2024). Chase has primarily played out wide this season, and Wiggins lined up for 43 of his 51 snaps in Sunday’s win over Buffalo as an outside cornerback, according to PFF. The 6-foot-1 Chase and 6-4 Tee Higgins, both strong for their size, will test the first-round pick’s physicality and ability to tackle in space.

“Obviously, they got star receivers,” Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. “Their passing game’s really good. Their quarterback is just as much a part of that as anybody. That’s a matchup within the matchup. But it’s team defense, man. It’s our whole defense versus their whole offense.”

5. Maybe no one should’ve been happier about Mike Macdonald’s offseason exit as Ravens defensive coordinator than Burrow.

Over two years in Baltimore, Macdonald, hired away in January as the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach, consistently flummoxed Burrow. A diverse menu of pressure packages and impressive downfield coverage limited the Bengals’ explosive passing attack. In five games against Macdonald’s defenses, including the postseason, Burrow averaged 198.2 passing yards (5.8 per attempt), completed 65.9% of his attempts and posted minus-0.06 EPA per drop-back.

In 24 games against all other opponents over the past two seasons, Burrow averaged 272.5 yards (7.2 per attempt), completed 67.9% of his passes and posted 0.08 EPA per drop-back. The Ravens, in other words, made one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks look like 2023 Joshua Dobbs.

But, with the return of his top weapons, a healthy Burrow is back to his old self. The Bengals rank fourth in offensive efficiency, according to FTN, and have averaged 0.46 EPA per drop-back with a 58.7% drop-back success rate when Chase and Higgins are on the field, according to TruMedia. The Commanders lead the NFL with 0.32 EPA per drop-back and a 57.4% drop-back success rate overall.

“I think the biggest challenge is not letting him know where to go with the football, and then really just trying to switch stuff up on him,” Orr said of Burrow. “He’s a real good football player. He’s really smart. He understands coverages. He understands pressures. It’s tough to confuse him. It’s tough to trick him, and even when you do, he has the ability to still beat you with his arm and move around the pocket and still beat you with his feet as well. So we have a lot of respect for him. We know what he’s done. We know what he’s capable of, and we have to be on our ‘A’ game if we want to come away with a victory.”