Bengals-Ravens: Lamar Jackson’s 4 touchdowns outpace Baltimore as it recovers and stops a late 2-point conversion attempt to win, 35-34

The Cincinnati Bengals weren’t going to give Lamar Jackson a chance to beat them in overtime.

After Ja’Marr Chase scored his third touchdown of the game with 38 seconds left in 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 great on Thursday night, as he has been all season. The Bengals would be more likely to take their chance on a play from the 2-yard line than what might happen in overtime.

It was probably the right call, but it didn’t work out.

Burrow threw an incomplete throw to Tanner Hudson on a 2-point attempt, and the Ravens were able to pull off a thrilling 35-34 win. That’s two tough losses for the Bengals against the Ravens this season, plus a 41-38 overtime loss in Week 5.

On the 2-point conversion, the broadcast showed there may have been two missed calls for the Ravens, a defensive holding and a possible roughing penalty on the passer. Neither was called and the Ravens won.

Burrow was great, Chase was unstoppable, but the Bengals couldn’t put away a much-needed win in Baltimore. Burrow was a small step behind Jackson, who threw four touchdowns, including a go-ahead score, with under two minutes left, and the Bengals weren’t good enough to outlast the Ravens. That could 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 suffering a tough loss by 14 points in the second half. You can’t blame Burrow or the offense for this. The Ravens were simply better.

They did everything but win against the Ravens this season.

Big plays in the 2nd half

In the first meeting between the Bengals and Ravens, they combined for 79 points in perhaps the NFL’s best game this season. Then there was a low-scoring first half on Thursday evening. It turns out the offenses needed little time to warm up. If the first meeting between the Bengals and Ravens wasn’t the game of the year this NFL season, perhaps that honor will be won on Thursday night.

Towards the end of the first half the game ended 7-7. After an interception was overturned because Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens didn’t stay on the field, Burrow hit Tanner Hudson for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead 30 seconds before halftime.

Then the second half developed into a fantastic offensive show, just like the first meeting between the two teams.

Chase made a big play early in the third quarter with his acceleration. He caught a pass from Burrow, spun up and flew past the Ravens secondary. Baltimore seemed startled by his explosion. That 67-yard score gave the Bengals a 21-7 lead. It looked like Cincinnati was headed for a big win, but the Bengals made a big mistake by letting the Ravens back into the game.

Chase Brown had the ball ripped out of his hands and the Ravens recovered the fumble. Jackson made the kind of play only he can make, backing away again and again until he crossed the 30-yard line, eventually bypassing the defense and walking the tightrope down the sideline to the 1. That set up a Derrick Henry landing. Suddenly the Ravens were back in the game, trailing 21-14.

After that, it was a heavyweight fight with every offense taking massive hits.

The game ended in a draw until late in the 4th minute

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 touchdown from scrimmage in his career, the Bengals apparently thought he was out of bounds and eased up a bit. Wallace kept running and ran 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 strange sequence after that, with Burrow throwing deep on third and second and again on fourth down and failing incomplete both times. Cincinnati must be wishing it could get those two decisions back. The Bengals were no longer in control of the game and seemingly had no idea how to get it going again. 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 just over a quarter later they found themselves trailing with 5:50 left.

Burrow knew what to do. He threw a deep throw to Chase, who set the Ravens secondary on fire 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. On every big play in the second half, the starting point for the Ravens was a series of short gains that moved the chains. On third-and-goal, Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman for a 5-yard touchdown and a 35-28 lead with 1:49 left.

Burrow had another chance, but with no timeouts remaining. The Bengals converted a fourth-and-10 with Andrei Iosivas barely making it to the first down line. A facemask penalty gave the Bengals 15 more yards. Chase caught a long pass and the Ravens were called out for roughing the passer on the play. This brought the Bengals to the Ravens’ 12-yard line. The Bengals scored on Chase’s touchdown and attempted the 2-point conversion but failed.

Cincinnati had a great shot to defeat the Ravens but couldn’t pull out either win. They could rue both losses in a long offseason.