CINCINNATI -- There is still about three months until the start of the regular season.
Still, it isn't too early to start previewing the Cincinnati Bengals' season by looking at how they fared against the teams they will be facing. Whether they last saw their upcoming opponents one year ago or four, and whether they faced them in the regular season or playoffs, there could be something to learn from those meetings.
We began with the first team on the Bengals' 2015 schedule, the Oakland Raiders. Next came the San Diego Chargers. Now, we continue with team No. 3, the Baltimore Ravens.
In their most recent outing against the Ravens, the Bengals were buoyed by a timely penalty and a late Andy Dalton dive:
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Date of 2015 meeting: Sept. 27, at Baltimore
Ravens' 2014 record: 10-6
Season series: Ravens lead 20-18
Last time Bengals faced Ravens: Cincinnati won, 27-24, on Oct. 26, 2014
How the game was won: With 3:59 left and down by four, the Bengals began their final possession. About three minutes and 10 plays later, Dalton capped one of the best drives of his career with a go-ahead 1-yard touchdown on a gutsy quarterback sneak. Though it was Dalton's fourth-and-short conversion that provided the winning points, receiver Mohamed Sanu deserves his share of hero's recognition, too. On a third-and-10 near the start of the series, he slipped underneath a safety and came back to catch a wobbly Dalton deep pass. Before finally being brought down inside Baltimore's 30, Sanu had run 53 yards from the line of scrimmage.
From there, three passes and four runs later, Dalton slipped behind an Andrew Whitworth block for the game-winning score.
With 1:01 remaining, the Bengals needed a key defensive stop to preserve the important mid-season division win. They got it when the defense forced three incompletions and drew a pivotal pass interference penalty. On what would have been a game-winning 80-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith in the game's waning seconds, safety George Iloka fell to the ground as Smith extended his left arm into the defensive back. Smith disagreed with the call after the game, leading the ruling to become one of the more controversial penalties of the first half of the season. Had officials not flagged the play, Iloka would have allowed his only touchdown of the season.
This season's key storyline: All that matters when these teams play is that it is a key division game. Both 10-win teams, the Bengals and Ravens were two of the three AFC North teams to make the playoffs last season. As wild-card round winners against the Steelers, the Ravens went the furthest, meaning the Bengals are motivated this season -- like in other seasons -- to go even deeper in the playoffs. Cincinnati hasn't won a playoff game in 25 seasons. After sweeping the Ravens last season, the Bengals also are hoping to do the same in 2015.