The Bengals, coming off their first win of the season, were looking to exit week 5 tied with the Baltimore Ravens in the standings. But they would have to beat them first. Cincinnati’s offence has been in sync over the last few weeks. However, the defence has been a big liability. Going up against one of the league’s better rushing attacks, led by Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, there were certainly reasons to be concerned, even with some players returning from injury. But if the offence could pick up where they left off, a shootout in the jungle seemed likely.
Baltimore’s offence expectedly got out to a quick start, with the drive’s highlight being a 23 yard pass from Jackson to Zay Flowers. Henry ran it in from a yard out shortly after. 7-0 Ravens.
After a punt by each team, the Bengals responded with one of their own. Chase Brown popped a 14 yard run before Burrow found Moss for 14 on the screen pass. After a chunk gain by Gesicki, Burrow was able to find Tee Higgins from 11 yards out for the TD. 7-7.
The Ravens regained the lead with a 7 play, 51 yard drive. An 18 yard completion from Jackson to Bateman got things going. It was a 16 yard pass to Bateman that finished it off, making the score 14-7 for the Ravens.
Cincinnati went 3 and out on their next drive, but Ryan Rehkow was able to pin them at the 1 with his punt. On the first play of the next drive, Sam Hubbard tackled Henry in the end zone for a safety, making the score 14-9 in favour of the Ravens.
Before the half, the Bengals got the ball back after a stop, and proceeded to drive down the field. They needed only 4 plays and 25 seconds. An 11 yard completion to Higgins was followed by a 9 yard completion to Moss. Burrow then hit Chase for 18, setting them up inside Baltimore territory. With 15 seconds left, at the 41 yard line, there was still time to go for a TD, but they had to be careful not to lose the chance at putting up points by getting greedy. They decided to dial up a deep shot, and Burrow launched one, on the money, to Chase, who walked into the end zone. It was a 41 yard TD that, after a successful 2 point conversion, put the Bengals up 17-14 at the half.
Receiving the ball to begin the 2nd half, the Bengals were able to add to their lead via a 5 yard TD pass from Burrow to Higgins. But interestingly, this drive started what ended up being 6 straight combined TD drives, with each side ending up with three. For the Bengals, the other 2 were scored by Chase Brown and Ja’Marr Chase. Chase’s TD capped off a 1 play drive in which he took a quick pass, and ended up getting loose down the sideline for a 70 yarder. On the other side, a Lamar Jackson 1 yard run, a pass to Charlie Kolar, and a pass to Isaiah Likely are how they scored.
Late in the game, the Bengals had a 3 point lead, but were unable to put it away. Getting the ball back, the Ravens went on a drive that resulted in a game tying 56 yard field goal by Justin Tucker.
Baltimore got the ball first to start OT, but a fumbled snap by Jackson resulted in the Bengals having an opportunity to end it. With the ball at the 38, no additional yardage would have meant a long field goal attempt. Still, the Bengals puzzlingly opted not to pass the ball once. Three runs later, they gained 3 yards.
McPherson came out to attempt a 53 yarder to win it. However, the snap by Cal Adomitis was a bit off. Not enough for it not to be playable, but enough to trouble Ryan Rehkow with the hold. Rehkow bobbled it as he tried to get it down. He did set the ball late, but by then, the operation was already disjointed, and McPherson hooked it well wide.
The Ravens needed just one play to get into field goal range. A 51 yard run by Henry set them up at the 6 yard line. The Ravens did not even waste time running another play. On 1st down, they kicked the 24 yard field goal, sealing the 41-38 win.
It was a heartbreaker for the Bengals, in a game that produced so much excitement, offensively. It will certainly raise a lot of questions, especially about the coaching staff and personnel on the defensive side. Meanwhile, the Bengals drop to 1-4, and face the New York Giants next week on Sunday Night Football.
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