Joe Burrow makes strong admission ahead of Bengals matchup vs. Ravens

The Cincinnati Bengals (1-3) are coming off their first win of the season, but their Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens (2-2) is a must-win game, too, as they sit in last place in the AFC North.

Quarterback Joe Burrow has not come out on the winning end of this meeting in recent years, losing the last two games and four out of the seven total.

That's why he knows he and the Bengals must play as close to perfect as possible if they want to defeat the Ravens.

"You've got to be aggressive out the gate," Burrow said via Nick Shook of NFL.com. "You can't let the game come to you because your possessions are going to be so limited. I'm gonna have to play damn-near perfect. That's how I'm preparing, so it's an exciting opportunity."

Like Cincinnati, Baltimore had a slow start to the season, but the Ravens seem to be heating up, coming off back-to-back wins in which they scored 63 total points.

A big reason why is the impressive play by two-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry, who have rushed for a combined 788 yards and seven touchdowns through the first four weeks.

Burrow knows the Bengals' offense must go score for score to prevent the game from getting out of hand.

"We have to. Otherwise, they're just gonna eat the clock up, run the ball," Burrow added. "We know how well they run it. So we have to start fast and give ourselves as many opportunities as we can."

Luckily for Cincinnati, it hasn't had a problem scoring lately, scoring 25, 33, and 34 points in the past three weeks.

If the Bengals hope to stay in the race for the AFC North and playoffs, they will need to find a way to win this divisional game at home.

Burrow intends to do just that.

"It's a big game, it's a big game. We know what our record is," Burrow finished. "We know the opportunities we have going forward, but it's our first divisional opponent. We're 1-3. We need to get this one. It's a big game for the Bengals."