Winners and losers of the Cincinnati Bengals’ 35-34 loss to the Baltimore Ravens

CINCINNATI – The Bengals lost 35-34 to the Ravens on Thursday night after blowing a 21-7 lead in the second half. Cincinnati is 4-6 this season and 1-2 in the AFC North.

Here are our winners and losers from the Bengals’ loss to the Ravens:

winner

Joe Burrow

Burrow took a loss in every sense of the word, but still played at a high level throughout the game. He was pressured on nearly half of his dropbacks and took several bone-crushing hits. He continued to improve, completing 34 of 56 passes for 428 yards and four touchdowns.

Burrow also led the Bengals’ offense down the field late in the fourth quarter, scoring what could have been a game-winning touchdown.

Yes’Marr Chase

It’s incredible that the Bengals lost on Thursday when their star receiver was the best player on a field that also included Lamar Jackson and Burrow.

Chase was great, finishing the game with 11 targets for 264 yards and three touchdowns. He had touchdowns of 67 and 70 yards before scoring the eventual game-winning score with 37 seconds left. Chase played like the best receiver in the world and yet it wasn’t enough for the Bengals to win the game.

Related: Joe Burrow posts historic stat lines in loss to Ravens

Tanner Hudson

Tanner Hudson finished the game with six catches on seven targets for 42 yards and a touchdown. The veteran was a safety net for Burrow throughout the game.

While Baltimore tried to stop Chase and focus on Mike Gesicki, the Bengals desperately needed someone to step up in the passing game.

loser

The Bengals defense in the second half

The Bengals gave up four consecutive touchdown drives to end the game. This allowed the Ravens to rally from a 14-point deficit in the second half. Sure, Chase Brown failed to give Baltimore any momentum in the third quarter.

This Bengals defense needs to respond in this situation and they didn’t. Cam Taylor-Britt dropped a possible interception when the game was tied 28-28. Trey Hendrickson didn’t bring Jackson down for a sack when he had the chance.

This defense is lacking playmakers, and that was on full display Thursday night.

Bengals offensive line

The Bengals offensive line struggled most of the night. Burrow went off script and found ways to make plays, but he took a lot of hits. According to official statistics, he was sacked three times and beaten 13 times (even more).

This offensive front needs to be better if the Bengals want to bounce back in Week 11 against the Chargers.

Zac Taylor/Lou Anarumo

Both Taylor and Anarumo deserve their fair share of the blame Thursday night.

It was the wrong call as Taylor made a 4th-and-2 attempt from the Ravens’ 34-yard line and the Bengals held on to a 21-20 lead. Kick the field goal. Give Evan McPherson a chance to give you a four-point lead.

The decision would have been fine if they had scored points earlier on the trip. The Bengals had the ball 1st-and-10 at the Baltimore 34-yard line. Burrow was sacked, then was pressured on 2nd-and-16 and threw an incompletion. Instead of gaining a few yards on third down, the Bengals went to first down and had to punt.

Punting into Ravens territory in the fourth quarter when you have a 21-14 lead is tough. No, they shouldn’t have tried it on 4th-and-16, but they should have found a way to gain 5-6 yards on second and third downs to kick a field goal and extend the lead. Consecutive possessions that end with no points in Ravens territory are painful.

Anarumo wasn’t much better. The coping problems continue. Her inability to put pressure on Jackson and take him to the ground is painful. Additionally, his unit had the worst tackling game in NFL history after the Bengals gave the ball back to the Ravens.

The officials

There is absolutely no way the game can end the way it did. Those responsible are the biggest losers of the evening. Jackson, Burrow and Chase put on a show and the referees swallowed the whistle on two obvious penalties with the game on the line.

The Bengals had their chances to win the game, but the NFL should be ashamed of their management of the final play.

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