The Cincinnati Bengals weren’t going to give Lamar Jackson a shot to beat them in overtime.
After Ja’Marr Chase scored his third touchdown of the game with 38 seconds left during a monster night for him and Joe Burrow, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn’t hesitate to call for the 2-point conversion. Jackson was awesome on Thursday night, as he has been all season. The Bengals would take their chance on one play from the 2-yard line rather than whatever might happen in overtime.
It was probably the correct call, but it didn’t work out.
Burrow threw incomplete to Tanner Hudson on the 2-point attempt and the Ravens held on to a thrilling 35-34 win. That’s two tough losses for the Bengals against the Ravens this season, to go with a 41-38 overtime loss back in Week 5.
In the 2-point conversion, the broadcast showed there might have been two missed calls on the Ravens, a defensive holding and a possible roughing the passer penalty. Neither was called and the Ravens went on to win.
Burrow was great, Chase was unstoppable but the Bengals couldn’t close the door on a much-needed win in Baltimore. Burrow has been a slight step short of Jackson, who threw four touchdowns including a go-ahead score with less than two minutes remaining, and the Bengals haven’t been good enough to outlast the Ravens. That might cost them a playoff spot.
Burrow had 428 yards and three touchdowns, Chase had 264 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn’t enough. The Bengals are 4-6 this season after a tough loss in which they led by 14 points in the second half. They can’t blame that on Burrow or the offense. The Ravens have just been better.
They’ve done everything against the Ravens this season but win.
Big plays in the 2nd half
The first time the Bengals and Ravens met, they combined for 79 points in perhaps the NFL’s best game this season. Then there was a low-scoring first half on Thursday night. It turned out, the offenses needed just a little time to get warmed up. If the first Bengals-Ravens meeting wasn’t the game of the year this NFL season, perhaps Thursday night will take that honor.
The game was tied 7-7 late in the first half. After an interception was overturned because Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens didn’t stay in bounds, Burrow hit Tanner Hudson for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 30 seconds left before halftime.
Then the second half turned into a fantastic offensive show, just like the first meeting between the teams.
Chase made a huge play early in the third quarter with his acceleration. He caught a pass from Burrow, turned upfield and flew by the Ravens' secondary. Baltimore seemed startled at his explosion. That 67-yard score gave the Bengals a 21-7 lead. It looked like Cincinnati was heading toward a huge win, but the Bengals made a big mistake to let the Ravens back in the game.
Chase Brown had the ball raked out of his hands and the Ravens recovered the fumble. Jackson made the type of play only he can make, as he kept retreating until he was beyond the 30-yard line, eventually got around the defense and ran the tightrope down the sideline all the way to the 1. That set up a Derrick Henry touchdown. Suddenly the Ravens were back in the game, down 21-14.
It was a heavyweight fight after that, with each offense landing massive punches.
The Bengals' defense let up and it cost Cincinnati a long touchdown. On a short pass to Tylan Wallace, a fourth-year receiver who had never scored a TD from scrimmage in his career, the Bengals apparently thought he was out of bounds and let up just a bit. Wallace kept running and went all the way down the sideline for an 84-yard score. Justin Tucker surprisingly missed the extra point, but the Ravens had cut Cincinnati’s lead to 21-20.
Cincinnati had a weird sequence after that, with Burrow throwing deep on third-and-2 and again on fourth down, both times falling incomplete. Cincinnati must wish it had those two decisions back. The Bengals went from having the game under control to seemingly having no idea how to reel it back in. The Ravens went on a long drive after that and Mark Andrews caught an 18-yard touchdown on a third-and-9. The 2-point conversion gave Baltimore a 28-21 lead. The Bengals had the ball and a 14-point lead, and a little more than a quarter later they trailed with 5:50 to go.
Burrow knew what to do. He threw deep to Chase, who torched the Ravens' secondary for a 70-yard touchdown. Chase had 238 yards at that point and the game was tied again.
But the Bengals needed a stop and that’s not easy against Jackson and the Ravens. For all of the big plays in the second half, the Ravens’ go-ahead drive was a series of short gains that moved the chains. On third-and-goal Jackson lofted a touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman for a 5-yard touchdown and a 35-28 lead with 1:49 to go.
Burrow had one more shot, albeit with no timeouts left. The Bengals converted a fourth-and-10, with Andrei Iosivas barely getting to the first down line. A facemask penalty gave the Bengals 15 more yards. Chase caught a long pass and the Ravens were called for roughing the passer on the play. That put the Bengals at the Ravens’ 12-yard line. The Bengals scored on Chase’s touchdown, and went for the 2-point conversion but didn’t get it.
Cincinnati had a great shot to sweep the Ravens but couldn’t pull out either win. They might regret both losses over a long offseason.
Lamar Jackson was at his best in the second half of the Ravens’ comeback win over the Bengals, generating +18.0 expected points added on dropbacks after halftime, the 2nd-highest mark by a QB this season.
Lamar Jackson: 25-of-33 for 290 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He now holds the NFL lead in TD passes with 24.
Derrick Henry: 68 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. He remains the NFL leader in rushing yards and touchdowns.
Ja'Marr Chase: 11 catches, 264 yards and three touchdowns on 17 targets. A monster game that moves him into the NFL lead in receiving yards and keeps him ahead in receiving touchdowns.
Joe Burrow: 34-of-56 for 428 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He once again feasted on a limited Ravens secondary.
Jack Baer
FINAL: Ravens 35, Bengals 34
The Ravens get the kick and this game is over. Baltimore wins a wild one to move to 7-3, while the Bengals fall to 4-6. Lamar Jackson has now won 10 of his last 11 games against the Bengals.
Jack Baer
Mike Gesicki was upset after the refs missed what looked like pretty clear defensive holding.
Joe Burrow didn't even look at Ja'Marr Chase on the left side of the field and instead threw to Tanner Hudson, who didn't get it. It was some physical defense on both Hudson and Mike Gesicki, but no penalty on the play.
Ravens can now win here by catching the onside kick.
The Bengals' two-point conversion for the lead is NO GOOD 😳
On a sloppy night for the Ravens defense, they saved their sloppiest for last. They get called offsides after a Bengals incompletion and Cincinnati is at the 7. Bengals still have one timeout.
Jack Baer
Ja'Marr Chase is up to 10 catches, 259 receiving yards and two touchdowns tonight. God help you if you're facing him in fantasy.
Jack Baer
And now a roughing the passer penalty that turns an 18-yard Ja'Marr Chase catch into a 32-yard gain. They're at the 12-yard line now.
Marlon Humphrey gets called for the Ravens' ninth penalty of the night. This time it's a facemask that moves the Bengals to the Ravens' 45-yard line. 1:11 still left.
Jack Baer
The call stands and Bengals still have 60 yards to go with 1:36 left and one timeout remaining.
Jack Baer
The Bengals juuuust get the conversion after Burrow weathers a blitz and finds Andrei Iosivas right at the first-down line. Refs are reviewing the first-down call and it's hard to see any reason to overturn it.
Jack Baer
Oof, looks like the refs missed a facemask on Nnamdi Madubuike on a Joe Burrow incomplete pass. The next falls incomplete too, and now the Bengals face 4th-and-10.
Jack Baer
TOUCHDOWN: Ravens move ahead on Lamar Jackson's 4th TD of the night
Jackson goes back to Bateman and it's a touchdown this time. The Bengals will get the ball back with 1:49 remaining and one timeout. With how quickly they've scored tonight, this game is nowhere close to over.
Huge break for the Bengals after the Ravens opt to throw on 2nd-and-goal. Lamar Jackson's pass to Rashod Batemen falls incomplete and stops the clock.
Jack Baer
This game has reached the two-minute warning, with the Ravens on 2nd-and-goal at the Bengals' 5. Cincinnati has only one timeout remaining, and won't have much time if they hold the Ravens to a field goal here.
Jack Baer
The Bengals use their first timeout with 2:16 left and the Ravens having 2nd-and-10 at the 24.
The Ravens are at the Cincinnati 24 and now the name of the game is burning clock, which is below three minutes after a Derrick Henry first down. Bengals still have all three timeouts.
Jack Baer
Ja'Marr Chase's 431 yards receiving this season vs Ravens are the most ever for 1 player for 1 opponent in a season, topping Art Powell's 428 for #Raiders vs Oilers in 1963
Lamar Jackson worked some magic on a scramble then threw to the wrong guy: Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt. The Bengals started celebrating a pick, but replay shows Taylor-Britt let the ball hit the ground. It's an incomplete pass and the Ravens avoid a disaster.
Jack Baer
The Ravens entered tonight with the worst pass defense at 280.9 yards allowed per game. Burrow is now up to 390 yards.
Jack Baer
TOUCHDOWN: Ja'Marr Chase answers with a 70-yard TD
On the first play of the drive, Joe Burrow finds a wide open Ja'Marr Chase (again) and it results in a 70-yard touchdown catch. He pulled up right before the end zone to draw out the play and the M&T Bank Stadium crowd did not like it.
TOUCHDOWN: Ravens take the lead on Lamar Jackson's 3rd TD of the night
The Bengals blitzed on 3rd-and-9 and didn't have anyone left to get Mark Andrews. Lamar Jackson finds him and the Ravens are up 28-21 after a successful two-point conversion. That's 21 straight points after falling behind 21-7.
Ravens open the drive with two straight first-downs via the arm of Lamar Jackson and they're already in field goal territory to take the lead. This game turned very quickly.
Burrow takes a deep shot to Jermaine Burton on fourth down and it falls incomplete just short of the end zone. The Ravens take over on their own 34 with 9:29 left.
Jack Baer
Ravens get the stop on 3rd-and-2 on their own 34, but the Bengals are going for it on fourth down.
Jack Baer
The Ravens defense keeps blowing chances to get off the field.
Check downs are there for Burrow all night. Again in the middle of the field
Ja'Marr Chase is up to 168 receiving yards on eight catches and 12 targets. He's the Bengals' offense with Tee Higgins out.
Jack Baer
That was the seventh extra-point miss of Tucker's career, on 507 attempts. All of them have been in the past seven seasons.
Looks like he just missed that one wide left.
Jack Baer
TOUCHDOWN: Tylan Wallace run a tightrope for 86 yards, but Justin Tucker misses the XP
On 3rd-and-2, Lamar Jackson gets the ball to an open Tylan Wallace, who breaks a cornerback tackle and somehow avoids going out of bounds on an 86-yard touchdown. It's not a game-tying touchdown, though, as Justin Tucker missed his first extra point of the season.
Ravens get the stop after pressuring Burrow two plays in a row. The Bengals are punting and the Ravens have an opportunity to get even after being on their back foot all game.
Jack Baer
The third quarter ends with the Bengals once again driving across midfield, but Nnamdi Madubuike's third sack of the night pushes them to 2nd-and-16 at the Ravens' 40. Big couple of plays coming up to start the fourth.
TOUCHDOWN: Ravens get closer with Derrick Henry's 12th TD run
One play later, Derrick Henry punches it in to cut the deficit to one score. That's his NFL-best 12th touchdown run. The Bengals offense has done a great job limiting the Ravens' 1-2 punch in the run game tonight, but it's hard to keep Jackson and Henry down for four quarters.
Lamar Jackson just Lamar Jackson'd all over the place. On a play that started at the 11, the Bengals defense chased him back past the 30, but he tight ropes the sideline and somehow reaches the 1.
FUMBLE: Ravens get huge break thanks to Marlon Humphrey
Chase Brown coughs it up trying to push for a first down and the Ravens come down with it. It was Marlon Humphrey with a huge rip for the Ravens, and Roquan Smith recovered it. Baltimore takes over on the Bengals' 31.
Meanwhile, the Bengals just keep moving the ball, this time converting a 3rd-and-6 that would have been pretty big for Baltimore. They're 5-for-10 on third downs tonight while averaging 5.9 yards per play overall.
Jack Baer
Lamar Jackson also just had a trainer take look at his throwing hand while wincing.
Jack Baer
Here's a stat: the Ravens have started 12 of their 31 offensive plays tonight with more than 10 yard to go, thanks to seven penalties and quite a few missteps. This is a team used to getting gains early with their run game, but that has barely happened tonight.
Jack Baer
And the Ravens offense is coming off the field again. The M&T Bank Stadium crowd is giving them some audible boos for their worst performance of the season.
Jack Baer
More bad news for the Ravens, who also just had a nice gain wiped out by another penalty.
The Ravens declare Kyle Hamilton (ankle) out for the game
The Broncos entered Sunday with the NFL's third-ranked defense. They were no match for Jackson and a Ravens offense that's arguably been the league's best through the first half of the season.
Lamar Jackson and Co. won't say they're the best offense in the NFL. But they sure are playing like it during their four-game win streak, and they're winning in a different way than last season.
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