Heartbreak in Baltimore despite the heroics of Burrow and Chase

BALTIMORE _ Quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase turned in two of the best performances in Bengals history Thursday night here at M&T Bank Stadium, but the Ravens overcame Burrow’s 428 yards and Chase’s three touchdowns when they held them to a two-score game -Conversion held with 38 seconds left for a 35-34 win.

The Bengals have now lost to the AFC’s top two teams, the Ravens and the undefeated Chiefs, 7-3, by a total of five points in three games, all of which were decided on the last play of the game or on the last play of the final 38 seconds became.

“It’s disgusting,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said.

The Bengals had a 21-7 lead and the ball midway through the third quarter when running back Chase Brown lost a fumble inside the Bengals’ 30 and Baltimore scored four straight touchdowns.

“Every time you play them it’s a one-score game. Whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game,” Taylor said. “That’s what matters.”

But it was the herculean efforts of Burrow and Chase that allowed the Bengals to gain possession with 1:49 left and get within 35-34 when Burrow threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night and his ninth in four days on a five-yarder -Floater hit that Chase caught his 10th NFL touchdown catch in a maze of two defensive backs in the right corner.

“A cloud,” Chase said of the two-man coverage. “Security had leverage from within, I had absolute like from within.”

Taylor was aggressive all night against the NFL’s No. 1 offense.

“We came here to win,” Taylor said.

From four attempts on fourth down to giving up Evan McPherson’s 57-yard and 52-yard field goals in the second half. The same was true for Burrow, who committed deep incompletions on third and second against Chase and on fourth and second against rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton with more than nine minutes left in the game in which the Bengals led 21-20 achieved.

Burrow easily knocked them both over.

“I would like to have both back,” Burrow said. “I had Jermaine on a route where I like him.”

Going within two after a brilliant 70-yard drive in 1:11 marked another big play from the incomparable Chase, a 21-yarder on the night of 264 yards that fell two yards short of his Bengals record. He entered the game as the only player in history to have multiple 160-yard receptions against the Ravens.

“We just know what they have on offense,” Burrow said. “That was the attitude. To be aggressive.”

Chase said he was open in the two-point contest (“I’m always open… Sometimes Joe doesn’t see it.”) and Burrow said with Chase on the back he never got close to him in his development. As the edge rushers dropped, Burrow had holes at the goal line and went to his first read, tight end Tanner Hudson.

“I kind of handled it,” said Burrow, who was lethal most of the night despite taking 13 hits and completing 34 of his 56 passes for a passer rating of 108, equal to his season average among league leaders.

It’s the second-most attempts of his career and the most since the second game of his rookie year in 2020.

On the two-point throw, it appeared that tight end Mike Gesicki was mauled in the hole opposite Hudson and defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike got his hand on Burrow’s facemask.

“At this point, you don’t expect to get calls like this,” Burrow said.

“They made one more play than we did, and that’s the story of this season,” center Ted Karras said. “I think we left some things out. Ultimately we made some mistakes. They didn’t do it.”

TALE OF TWO Ds: The Bengals defense played its best ball of the season in the first half, holding the Ravens’ No. 1 offense to 102 yards, their lowest first-half output since 2022, and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to 71 passing yards and seven points for a 14-7 halftime lead.

Slot cornerback Mike Hilton capped the half by sending Jackson storming into the locker room, ripping his helmet off his head. His downhill tackle prevented wide receiver Diontae Johnson from going out of bounds and stopped the clock so kicker Justin Tucker could attempt one of his bombs.

But the Ravens exploded for more than 300 yards in the second half, and Jackson ran and threw like the reigning MVP he is. He had to be great to beat Burrow, and he was. His brilliant 141 passers and four touchdown passes included a game-winning 84-yard touchdown pass that was wide receiver Tylan Wallace’s first career touchdown catch and first catch of the season as he made three tackles down the left sideline could avoid.

“That was probably the killer,” Hilton said after the Bengals got the inside-the-10 punt they wanted from Ryan Rehkow. “He didn’t do anything special. He played and we didn’t.”

Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who had two passes defensed and a tackle for a loss, missed less than five minutes with the clock ticking down at 28-28.

“Lamar is fighting. He makes a lot of plays. You have to plaster,” Taylor-Britt said. “Especially (tight end) Mark Andrews coming back and playing like himself. He’s No. 1. I just saw him and tried to make a play.”

In addition to his performance, Taylor-Britt was also one of the guys who couldn’t get Wallace down.

“Quick game. You have to line up and make tackles. If you miss a tackle, that’s a touchdown,” Taylor-Britt said. “We have to find a way to finish the game… We had to keep up with the turnover battle.”

CHASE AGAIN I: Chase stunned the Ravens again with another long catch-and-run touchdown. This one came on their first snap of the second half and was pretty easy after Burrow made a vintage move into the pocket. He stepped forward and drilled it to Chase, cutting from left to right down the middle. And no one touched him as he continued to run right down the sideline, passing linebacker Trenton Simpson and safety Marcus Williams for a 67-yard touchdown that made it 21-7.

It was on the same field when Chase made the longest play of his career as a rookie in 2021, an 82-yard catch-and-run touchdown. It also came a month after Chase took a 70-yard screen for a touchdown against the Ravens at Paycor Stadium.

It was the 11th^Th His career-best touchdown catch went for at least 60 yards, the most ever by a Bengal, breaking Ring of Honor member Isaac Curtis’ record. It is also the most in the NFL since 2021. He also has the most of 40 (15) and 50 (11) and this was his longest since a 33-yarder in New York on October 13th.

“They played a lot of coverages and I moved around a lot,” Chase said. “There was a hole in the dagger (path over the middle) … and I attacked the ball.”

CHASE AGAIN II: Chase and Burrow continued to strike. The Ravens had barely taken the 28-21 lead through Jackson’s 18-yard touchdown pass and his own two-point throw on an option dance with 5:50 minutes left before they tied the score 13 seconds later when Chase scored his second Catched a 70-yard throw against the Ravens this year. This time, Burrow hit a nice ball into the post against a Quarters defense.

“The safety fell on my side. As soon as he goes down, I go to the post,” Chase said.

Chase is 12^Th The 60-yarder was also historic. He is now tied with Homer Jones for the most touchdown catches over 60 yards.

We’ve had some close games this year. “All games are close,” Chase said. “We just have to find a way to finish it.”