Fresh off a two game winning streak, the Bengals were looking to use their momentum to come away with a key divisional win on the road on Sunday Night Football. Up for grabs: sole possession of 1st place in the AFC North.
It was a very slow start for the Bengals on both sides of the ball. The offence struggled to do much of anything, while the defence was looking shaky. Baltimore was picking up yards on the ground, and Jackson made a few plays through the air as well. The Ravens scored on two of their first three drives. After a Tucker field goal, an 11 yard strike from Jackson to Andrews made it 10-0 Ravens.
The Ravens were driving once again, now inside Cincinnati territory. However, a bad overthrow by Lamar led to a Vonn Bell interception.
Looking to capitalise on the turnover, the Benalso took the field. There were finally some signs of life in the running game, as Mixon was able to pick up some nice gains. As well, depth receiver Mike Thomas got involved with a 33 yard catch and run. The drive was eventually capped off with a 19 yard TD pass from Burrow to Hayden Hurst, the former Raven.
After forcing a punt, the Bengals were back on offence, with Burrow going to work in the 2 minute drill. Samaje Perine made several key plays on this drive, getting them out of some tough situations. The Bengals, with very limited time to work with, stalled out at the Baltimore 22. McPherson’s 40 yard field goal tied the game at 10, only seconds before half time.
Coming out of the half, the defence, aided by 2 missed throws by Jackson, forced the Ravens to turn it over on downs. Unfortunately, Burrow gave it right back, throwing a bad pick to his former LSU teammate, Queen. The Ravens would kick a field goal off the turnover, taking a 13-10 lead.
On their next drive, the Bengals marched down the field. There was a lot of dinking and dunking which, combined with a couple of penalties, helped move the chains.
They eventually ended up at the 2 yard line, 1st & goal. The first play was incomplete. 2nd down was a botched Philly Special that lost 12 yards. On 3rd down, they gained the 12 yards back. On 4th & goal, they went for it. It was an attempted shovel pass to Stanley Morgan, similar to what the Chiefs run. However, that was also botched. There seems to have been some miscommunication on the play, as Collins might not have been in the right spot. Regardless, it was a brutal sequence for the Bengals, who decided not to run the ball even once from the 2 yard line.
Taking over at the 2, the Ravens marched down the field. This drive was largely the Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews show, as the pair made up most of the yards. After stalling out inside the Bengals 10, another Tucker field goal made it 16-10 for the Ravens.
Cincinnati went on another long drive. Mixon was a big part of this one, with multiple nice runs. Chase and Boyd also were involved a little, but aside from the odd penalty, it was Mixon moving the chains, both in the passing and running game. Fast forward, the Bengals were facing 3rd & goal on the Ravens 1 yardline. Joe Burrow ran the QB sneak. With the help of a push from Mitchell Wilcox, he was able to get into the endzone. McPherson’s extra point barely squeaked through, giving Cincy the 17-16 lead.
Needing a field goal to win, the Ravens wasted no time moving up the field. After a couple of completions to Mark Andrews, the Bengals couldn’t stop their rushing attack. For the most part, it was Lamar Jackson doing the damage himself. The Ravens drove 50 yards, leaving 2 seconds for a 43 yard field goal attempt. The kick was good, giving Baltimore the walkoff win. 19-17 final.
The Bengals fall to 2-3 and will head to New Orleans to take on the Saints next week. The health of Winston will have to be monitored, but we could potentially see Andy Dalton take on his former team for the third time since leaving.
