5 things we learned from Ravens’ Week 5 overtime win over the Bengals

Some questions were answered while others came into focus on Sunday.

There were numerous revealing takeaways from the Baltimore Ravens’ nail-biting 41-38 overtime win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in Week 5 of the 2024 regular season.

In their first AFC North matchup of the year, they proved that no amount of adversity is too great to overcome when they have the most dynamic dual-threat quarterback in NFL history under center and leading the charge. They are shaping into the kind of team that is not only capable of finishing games but also establishing and extending big leads over any opponent. For the third week in a row, they emerged victorious and did so in come-from-behind fashion after being down double figures for the first time this season.

There were several encouraging performances by players and units on both sides of the ball that were vital in securing this victory to improve the Ravens’ overall record to 3-2 as they continue to climb up the AFC North standings.

Here are five of the main things that can be learned from Sunday’s resounding triumph.

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Lamar Jackson should be MVP frontrunner

It’s one thing to be a human-highlight-reel almost every play as the reigning league MVP has proven throughout his football playing career dating back to his pee-wee days. However, to seemingly will his team to a come-from-behind victory after establishing an early lead with quick scoring drives and one clutch play after another by any means necessary is a feat not many quarterbacks are capable of but on Sunday, Jackson made the miraculous look easy.

Every time it seemed like the Bengals were in firm control of the game in the second half after taking a lead heading into halftime, Jackson and the Ravens up-tempo offense answered the call. On a day where Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense torched his defense, the two-time First Team All-Pro returned the favor in kind as he outdueled the rival star signal caller on his own home turf. He accounted for 400 of the Ravens’ 520 yards of total offense—season-high 345 passing and 55 rushing—and four of the team’s five touchdowns. The two-time MVP winner looked every bit deserving of being the leading candidate to win his third.

“That was like [a] third MVP level for him,” running back Derrick Henry said. “That’s why Lamar is the best player in the league; [he’s] the G.O.A.T for a reason.”

In back-to-back weeks, Jackson has outshined and outperformed both Burrow and Josh Allen. In Week 1, he outplayed Patrick Mahomes and nearly led the Ravens to a comeback win from down double digits to the Kansas City Chiefs, but came up a literal toe short. No other quarterback in the league is playing at an elite level more consistently than Jackson.

Demise of Ravens tight ends was greatly exaggerated

Despite the offense putting up monster numbers in terms of yards and points during their winning streak, many fans, pundits and fantasy football owners couldn’t help but express their concern and displeasure about the lack of involvement from the team’s tight end position. While the trio of three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews and third-year pros Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar have been outstanding as perimeter blockers in the running game, their collective contributions in the passing attack had been minimal since Likely’s monster game in the regular season opener.

Andrews went back-to-back games without a catch for the first time in his career but all those concerns were quelled and the big day that head coach John Harbaugh said would come during the week leading up to the game for the Ravens tight ends came to fruition in a major way against the Bengals. While second-year wide receiver Zay Flowers led the team in receptions (seven), targets (12) and receiving yards (111), the tight ends combined for 10 catches on 12 targets for 132 receiving yards and accounted for three of Jackson’s touchdowns four touchdowns and over a third of his completions and passing yards.

Kolar had the best game of his career to date as he led the bunch in receiving yards for the second time in the last three weeks with 64 on three catches including a new career-long of 55 and his first touchdown of the season. Likely only had 16 yards on three catches but two of them went for touchdowns while Andrews had his best game of the season thus far with four catches for 55 yards and would’ve had a walk-in touchdown on a target he had to go down to the ground to reel in.

Justin Tucker exorcises demons from 50-plus yards

After weeks of having his ability and legacy questioned, the future Hall of Famer proved he is still deserving of the G.O.A.T. status and best in the game with his clutch performance against the Bengals. Tucker’s first attempt didn’t come until inside the final minutes of regulation and it resulted in the first successful attempt from 50-plus since Week 3 of last season on a 56-yarder to tie the game at 38-38 to force overtime.

“You either have the choice to rise to the occasion, or fold up like a cheap suit,” Tucker said. “I left a couple out there earlier this season, so to be able to come through like we did today, and I emphasize we, is particularly satisfying.”

Even though he hadn’t made a kick longer than 50 yards since the 2022 season, his coaches’ and teammates’ faith in him to drill the long try with the game hanging in the balance never wavered.

“I had all the confidence in the world. I know who he is. I wasn’t worried about what happened earlier in the season,” Jackson said. “Sometimes the ‘G.O.A.T.’ may miss, but he came back, and when we needed him, he conquered.”

After the Ravens were given new life in overtime following a missed 53-yard attempt by Bengals kicker Evan McPherson that sailed wide left after a botched hold, Tucker delivered the dagger on a game-winning chip shot from 24 yards out after Henry ripped off a 51-yarder to set it up.

Defense struggled mightily but made clutch plays late

Coming off their best performance of the season last week in which they shut down the Bills, the Ravens were anything but dominant in this matchup against a desperate Cincinnati team fighting to keep their dwindling playoff and division hopes alive. From the late second quarter until literally their last two possessions of regulation, the Bengals were virtually unstoppable on offense.

They allowed the Bengals to score touchdowns on four straight drives, record a season-high 442 yards of total offense and match their offense with a gaudy average of 6.8 yards per play. Burrow threw for a season-best five scores, 76.9 completion percentage, 392 passing yards and produced a season-high passer-rating of 137 after going 30-of-39. Three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase went off for a season-high 10 catches for 12 targets and 193 passing yards and pair of scores while Tee Higgins also put up season-best numbers with nine catches on a game-high 14 targets for 83 yards and two scores.

In spite of all the yards and scores they gave up through the first 57 minutes of regulation, when three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey recorded his second interception of the season after undercutting a slant while in coverage of Chase, it turned the tide in the Ravens favor with just over three minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

“We’re not there with our pass defense yet, but they made the stops when they needed to, to get the win,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “I’m proud of them about that because that again goes back to that grit part.”

The offense tied the game on the ensuing drive but left the Bengals with enough time to potentially drive for a game-winning field goal. Instead, on the first play, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike picked the perfect to record his first full sack of the season and derailed the drive before it could even get started with a seven-yard loss. Cincinnati opted to run the clock out and play for overtime after an incompletion on second down left them with a third and long deep in their own territory.

After Jackson’s fumble on an aborted snap in overtime, they stiffened up and only yielded just three yards on three carries to force McPherson to attempt a 50-plus yard attempt that he went onto miss. First-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s unit still managed to finish with multiple sacks for the fifth straight game to open the season and log nine quarterback hits but they weren’t nearly as competitive in coverage and allowed the Bengals to go 10-of-15 on third down that included several long down and distances.

“There are plenty of things to look at and pick apart, things that we’ll be working hard to improve on,” Harbaugh said. “But I’m proud of the guys to keep believing.”

Ravens can win any style of game

The best teams in the league who are capable of making deep runs into the postseason are ones that can win in a myriad of different ways and pick up the slack on one side of the ball when the other is having an off day or struggling with the opposition. While the Ravens extended their league-leading streak of consecutive games with 100-plus rushing yards with 175 on 34 attempts, before Henry’s final carry that set up the game-winning field goal, they were averaging just 3.75 yards per carry and had 124 yards.

Unlike the previous two weeks, their aerial assault led the way offensively and generated their biggest and best plays. They came out on top of what surprisingly turned into a shootout, showing they can be just as dangerous in the passing game as they are with their league-best rushing attack. Jackson completed passes to nine different targets and offensive coordinator Todd Monken called a great game when the Ravens needed to move the ball quickly and finish in the end zone to keep pace with the Bengals.

A team that can pivot and be ambidextrous in their offensive approach and execution between the run and the pass, come up clutch on defense when it is needed the most and be both reliable and resilient on special teams is a team capable of winning any type game they find themselves in. Whether it is trailing or leading by a lot or a little, this team can’t be counted out moving forward no matter who they go up against.