What we learned from Baltimore’s 35-34 win

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1. The Ravens offense got going in the second half after a sluggish start. The Ravens had one of their sluggish offensive games of the season well into the third quarter, trailing 21-7 at a shell-shocked M&T Bank Stadium. But Chase Brown‘s fumble seemed to wake up the Ravens and the crowd, giving them excellent field position and putting them back in the game. Lamar Jackson got free for the first time of the night and made a tightrope walk down the right sideline to set up a sweeping touchdown. Then Jackson found it Tylan Wallace for an 84-yard walk that broke a tackle and took him the distance. It was the first of three fourth-quarter touchdowns by the Ravens, each 65 yards or longer, giving them a 35-28 lead with under two minutes left. Baltimore’s struggling defense allowed the Bengals a touchdown but stopped them on the two-point conversion for another thrilling win. It took more than half an hour for the Ravens’ nuclear offense to emerge from its doldrums, but Jackson and the rest of the team were special when they needed to be.
2. The Bengals almost got the big win, but failed on the two-point conversion. When Joe Burrow found Yes’Marr Chase For a touchdown that cut the Ravens’ lead to 35-34 with 38 seconds left, Burrow threw up two fingers without hesitation. The Bengals were looking for a win — one that could have evened their record at 5-5. Burrows throw to Tanner Hudson The two-point conversion fell incomplete, Burrow had a shot on the play, Hudson fought through contact and even through Mike Gesicki appeared to have been mined on the other side of the piece. There were no flags, the Ravens recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran until the end of time. Burrow threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns, and Chase was incredible with 11 catches for 264 yards and three of those scores. The Bengals’ offense was great for the most part (aside from Brown’s big fumble) and might have had a few calls against them, including a missed facemask early on the final drive, but that wasn’t quite enough as they fell to 4-6 and made their playoff hunt even tougher.
3. The Ravens defense struggled to beat the Bengals without the injured Hamilton. During the Bengals’ first touchdown drive late in the first half, the Ravens provided security Kyle Hamilton appeared to slip and twist his ankle, causing him to leave the game and later be ruled out. Five plays later, the Bengals jumped out to a 14-7 lead. Then, on the Ravens’ next defensive attack in the third quarter, the score was 21-7 after Chase beat them and went 67 yards untouched through the middle of the secondary. Chase would score two more goals in the second half and continued to annihilate Baltimore’s already maligned secondary. But without Hamilton out there, things were often ugly. Brandon Stephens was teased again and again. Marcus Williamswho was substituted a few weeks ago, had to accept some shaky angles to the ball on all the big plays. The Ravens had the right idea when it came to money downs, playing man defense and forcing lower percentage throws, like the miss on fourth down Jermaine Burton. Justin Madubuike also had three sacks, a career best, and in the end the Ravens finally got the stop they needed. But the difficulties without Hamilton should worry them a little.
4. The Bengals’ defense collapsed in the second half. The game was nearly perfect in the first 40 minutes or so, with the Bengals controlling the ball and getting key stops on Lamar Jackson, forcing four three-and-outs and taking a two-touchdown lead. Cincinnati’s defense had allowed fewer than 150 yards in the first three quarters but completely collapsed in the fourth, allowing three long touchdown drives that allowed the Ravens to take control of a game the Bengals could have won should – and, to be honest, had to win. A missed tackle by Cam Taylor Britt (and little help behind him) led to an 84-yard TD. The Bengals’ early, disciplined pass rush lost control of Jackson several times in the second half. In the fourth quarter alone, Jackson completed 11 of 13 passes for 197 yards and three TDs, reminiscent of the thriller between these teams in Week 5, when Jackson threw two TDs in the fourth quarter and led a wild comeback. The Bengals just can’t seem to find the right approach to defend Jackson. This time they tried a more passive approach, often “mush” rushing and very selective blitzing, a big departure from the heavy pressure approach of the first game. Neither worked. The Bengals defense showed real fire early on, but faded late.
5. Ravens receive insulting contributions from an unexpected source. In some ways, this was a typical Ravens offensive game. They scored 35 points and touchdowns in four straight drives to put the game away. Just another day at the office in the box score, right? Well, no. Yes, Jackson was special in the second half, and Derrick Henry also showed strong performance in some important runs. But in a game if Zay flowers was quiet and new purchase Diontae Johnson didn’t make much noise, the Ravens received shocking help from them Tylan Wallacewho came into the game with nine receptions but caught three balls for 115 yards, including an 84-yard catch-and-run and a big 20-yarder in the fourth. Wallace is now officially a Bengals hitter, with eight of his 12 catches strangely coming against Cincinnati. Rashod Bateman He also ended a quiet period with the go-ahead touchdown, but Wallace’s contributions were huge.

Next-Gen Stats Insights for the Bengals-Ravens (via NFL Pro): Justin Madubuike set a career-high by generating seven pressures on 48 pass rushes (14.6%) while also collecting three sacks, the most of his career. Madubuike’s two highest pressing numbers in a game this season came against the Bengals. In Week 5 he had six pressures.

NFL Research: The 431 yards Ja’Marr Chase gained against the Ravens this season are the most ever by a player against a single opponent in a season, surpassing Art Powell’s 428 yards for the Raiders against the Oilers in 1963 .