As strange as it sounds, Willie Anderson has fond memories of this place.

Not winning memories, of course. During his 12 seasons with the Bengals, the Pro Bowl right tackle experienced only one winning record. There were a lot of losing days, but a lot of poignant moments as well as he developed into one of the game’s best linemen.

For instance, the time he commandeered a shovel from the grounds crew to illustrate coach Marvin Lewis’ adage a few years back that the Bengals (1-9-1) needed to focus on digging themselves out of their long-standing mess.

‘‘The feelings will probably come upon me once I land in Cincinnati and once I get into the visitors’ locker room,’’ Anderson said. ‘‘I’m going to have to get there and go find the groundskeeper guys so I can find my shovel. I want my shovel.’’

The rest of his new teammates don’t need any digging implements. The Baltimore Ravens (7-4) just need a win.

They haven’t had many good times at Paul Brown Stadium, where they’ve dropped their last three games. Baltimore won the season opener at home 17-10, which marked quarterback Joe Flacco’s rookie debut, and has a chance to finish its first season sweep of Cincinnati since 2002.

The Ravens need it. Pittsburgh beat the Bengals 27-10 last week to keep its one-game lead over the Ravens in the AFC North’s two-team race for the division title. Now, it’s Baltimore’s turn to beat up on the lowly.

‘‘They always, always play us hard,’’ safety Ed Reed said. ‘‘We know that they’re not going to lay it down. They haven’t laid it down. So, we’ve got to come out and do the things that we’ve been doing — get after these guys and try to do our best about letting us get our hands on them.’’

The first time they played, the Bengals’ offense got manhandled.

Even with Carson Palmer at quarterback, Cincinnati managed only 154 yards and eight first downs, two of them by penalty. Cincinnati’s only touchdown came on a fumble return. And, in one respect, it was a high point of the season. Chad Ocho Cinco caught one pass for 22 yards, which stands as his longest reception of the season.

‘‘We play them twice a year every year, but the wrinkles they throw at you are so complicated and different,’’ Ocho Cinco said. ‘‘If you miss one person, it can really mess you up. The defense is very, very confusing.’’