The Baltimore Ravens won a divisional thriller to kick off Week 10 on Thursday, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 35-34.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for four touchdowns in the victory. His last pass of the night was a five-yard pitch to Reshod Bateman for the go-ahead score with one minute and 49 seconds remaining.
Joe Burrow led the Bengals down the field for a touchdown in the final minute, but he couldn’t complete a go-ahead pass on a two-point conversion attempt. Ja’Marr Chase was sensational in defeat, catching 11 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns.
This was the second high scoring duel between the teams, as Baltimore won a 41-38 game in overtime in Cincinnati in Week 5.
The first half of Thursday’s game was relatively quiet, as the teams combined for only 21 points. The Bengals opened the game with a touchdown, but their next possession ended on downs. The Ravens eventually tied the game early in the second quarter, and the teams then traded punts for four possessions before Cincinnati added another touchdown on its last drive of the half.
The Bengals added to their lead to take a 21-7 advantage after their first possession of the third quarter. But a fumble on their next drive gave life to the Ravens, who then began a streak of touchdowns on four straight possessions.
Baltimore went ahead 28-21 before Burrow found Chase for a 70-yard bomb to tie the game again. That led to Bateman’s go-ahead reception before Cincinnati tried to go for two with only 38 seconds left after another Chase score.
Jackson finished the game with 290 yards passing and another 33 rushing. The Ravens improved to 7-3 with the win, sweeping their two games against the Bengals.
Burrow completed 34 of 56 passes for 428 yards and four touchdowns. Cincinnati fell to 4-6.
The Second Half Surge
The Ravens outscored the Bengals 28-13 after Cincinnati took a 21-7 lead on the fourth quarter. The Bengals tried to take a late-lead on a two-point conversion, but the attempt failed.
The 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, 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.
The Turning Point
Cincinnati was in control of the game until Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey stripped Bengals running back Chase Brown for a fumble that Baltimore recovered with 7:05 left in the third. That sparked a 21-point run that allowed the Ravens to not only get back in the game but eventually take the lead. It compounded the Bengals' rushing game woes on a night where they struggled to get much going.
The Ja'Marr Chase Show
Ja’Marr Chase had his sixth career game of at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown. That ties Lance Alworth for the third most by a player under the age of 25 in league history, according to NFL research. Only Randy Moss and Justin Jefferson had more, with each having seven. Chase finished with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns.
Lamar Jackson’s Magic
The NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player needed to shake off his worst start of the season. After being limited to 71 yards in the first half, Jackson completed 15 of 19 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
Jackson has had two game-winning drives this season, and both have come against the Bengals. He helped Baltimore to a 41-38 overtime win in Cincinnati last month.
Jackson was dominant in the fourth quarter, completing 11 of 13 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns. It was the second-most passing yards in a fourth quarter this season. Jordan Love had 202 in Week 4 vs. the Vikings. With two on Thursday, Jackson has nine touchdown passes from outside the pocket, four more than any other quarterback this season. Burrow is second with five.
A Night of Big Plays
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.
A Night of Controversy
This is going to be something worth talking about. The officials missed some blatant stuff on the game-deciding two-point conversion attempt.
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.
What’s Next
The Ravens (7-3), who have swept Cincinnati in back-to-back seasons, are now in a virtual first-place tie atop the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2). The Ravens travel to Pittsburgh next week for a battle for first place in the AFC North.
The Bengals (4-6) head to Los Angeles for a Week 10 matchup against the Chargers.
