Lamar Jackson and the Ravens win the AFC North thriller over the Bengals

BALTIMORE – Lamar Jackson’s dominance over the Cincinnati Bengals continued Thursday night – as did his flair for the dramatic.

Jackson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rashod Bateman with 1:49 to play gave the Baltimore Ravens a 35-34 victory and improved his career record to 10-1 against the Bengals.

The score came down to the final minute when the Ravens needed their defense to force Joe Burrow’s incompletion on a 2-point conversion with 38 seconds left to preserve Jackson’s 12th career game-winning drive. There will be debate as to whether a penalty should have been assessed on the 2-point attempt.

Jackson had two game-winning drives this season, both against the Bengals. He helped Baltimore to a 41-38 overtime win in Cincinnati last month.

The NFL’s reigning most valuable player had to put his worst start to the season behind him. After being limited to 71 yards in the first half, Jackson completed 15 of 19 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns.

The Ravens scored 28 points in the second half, the most of any team in a second half this season.

The Ravens (7-3), who have beaten Cincinnati in back-to-back seasons, are now virtually tied for first place atop the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2).

QB breakdown: 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 against 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.

Stunning statistics: Wide receiver Tylan Wallace chose an opportune time to record his first career touchdown catch. With Baltimore trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Wallace took a short out pass from Jackson and turned it into an 84-yard touchdown by somehow staying in bounds as he ran down the left sideline. Wallace gained 78 yards after the catch above expectations, which is the second-most YACOE on a reception since 2018, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Worrying trend: The Ravens’ pass defense, the league’s worst, looked like this in the second half when Baltimore was without All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton (ankle). The Ravens allowed touchdown passes of 67 and 70 yards to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. This season, Baltimore has now given up 28 completions of 25 or more yards, which is the most in the league.

Most surprising performance:Justin Tucker. The seven-time Pro Bowl kicker hit an extra point wide left that would have tied the game at 21 in the fourth quarter. Tucker had scored 75 additional points in a row before that miss. He had some struggles early in the season, but he started Thursday after making 10 of his previous 11 field goals.

Next game: at Steelers (1 p.m. ET, November 17)

Amazing statistics: Chase recorded his sixth career game with at least 150 yards and a touchdown. According to NFL Research, this makes Lance Alworth the third highest-paid player under the age of 25 in league history. Only Randy Moss and Justin Jefferson had more, seven each. Chase finished the game with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

Key game: Cincinnati was in control of the game until Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey picked off Bengals running back Chase Brown for a fumble, which Baltimore recovered with 7:05 left in the third period. That sparked a 21-point run that not only allowed the Ravens to get back into the game, but ultimately take the lead. This compounded the Bengals’ problems with their rushed play on a night where they struggled to get much going.

QB collapse. Burrow had a strong performance. Even though Burrow was under pressure all night and didn’t have wide receiver Tee Higgins, he extended his plays and kept finding Ja’Marr Chase. His 70-yard touchdown pass to Chase in the fourth quarter immediately halted Baltimore’s momentum after the Ravens had scored 21 straight points to take the lead. It was Burrow’s ninth career game with at least 350 passing yards and three passing touchdowns (he finished the game with 428 and four), extending his own lead for the most in Bengals history. It may not have been a coincidence that Burrow set the tone after Hamilton crashed with an ankle injury. Burrow was 15 of 21 for 243 yards and three touchdowns after Hamilton left the game with 1:17 left in the second quarter.

Next game: at Chargers (8:20 p.m. ET, November 17)