Raven Country

Ravens TE Responds to Joe Burrow's Complaint

The Baltimore Ravens' home game against the rival Cincinnati Bengals is drawing plenty of attention already.
Jon Alfano|
Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

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Baltimore Ravens

Rarely does an NFL game generate so many headlines six months before kickoff, but this year's Thanksgiving game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium absolutely is.

On the surface, this game is the latest edition in one of the NFL's most exciting rivalries as of late, and the fact that it's in front of a national audience on a holiday only adds to the tension. But that's just it, this is the fourth straight year that the Ravens will host the Bengals in prime time, and third straight year that the game falls on a Thursday night. Meanwhile, each game in Cincinnati during that time (excluding a 2022 wild card game) kicked off at 1 p.m. ET.

That fact hasn't sat well with some in Cincinnati, as not only have the fans raised concerns about it, but so has star quarterback Joe Burrow.

"Playing in Baltimore for the fourth straight prime-time year isn't ideal," Burrow told reporters Tuesday. "Maybe we can get one of those in Cincinnati next year. Please."

In response to that complaint, Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely gave his take on why Baltimore keeps getting the prime time games, while also throwing a playful jab at the Bengals.

"I've seen a little clip of Joe saying that he wants a game in Cincinnati out there on primetime," Likely said on the "Up & Adams" show. "I don't even know what their stadium is called. I just know, when you come to [M&T Bank Stadium], in prime time television, I mean, that's just somewhere nobody else wants to be."

In fairness, the Bengals just renamed their venue to Paycor Stadium in 2021 after it was known as Paul Brown Stadium for more than two decades before that. However, that likely won't stop the Bengals from using his comments as bulletin board material.

When this game kicks off on Turkey Day, the Ravens should absolutely expect to get the Bengals' best shot once again.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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