Baltimore Beatdown staff reacts to the Ravens – Bengals Thursday Night Football Thriller.
The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in an all-out thriller on Thursday Night Football, 35-34. Below are the reactions from the Beatdown staff.
The Ravens overcame one of the ugliest defensive performances in recent history. Ja’Marr Chase dominated the pass defense and posted his third touchdown of 65+ yards against the Ravens… this season. But a few plays made when it came down to it and the Ravens’ managed to claim victory in the clutch with a denial on the 2-point conversion attempt and recovering an onside kick on the first try — something they hadn’t done this season.
Offensively, what a second-half master class. Since the Humphrey forced fumble, the Ravens’ offense found the right gear and stopped getting in their own way. From Tylan Wallace more than doubling his career yardage total with a tight-rope running 84-yard touchdown to Lamar Jackson’s magic, the Ravens delivered. They now are 7-3 and buried the Bengals to 4-6.
Extra rest days before their bout in Pittsburgh against the Steelers will do them well. Especially when the AFC North division crown is on the line. — Kyle Phoenix
The Bengals have to be wondering how they lost that football game. The Ravens could not stop Ja’Marr Chase and Derrick Henry finished with just 68 yards. But a brilliant second half from Lamar Jackson and Todd Monken, plus a few timely plays from Tylan Wallace and Marlon Humphrey, gave Baltimore just enough to overcome repeated defensive lapses. Jackson’s second-half was one of the best of his career, creating positive gains out of busted plays and placing almost every pass perfectly. There is plenty to criticize about the team’s performance in this game, but there’s no denying their ability to stay in any game, against any opponent, when Jackson is playing at this level. — Nikhil Mehta
This game turned out to be a tale of two halves. The Ravens could hardly get anything going on offense in the first half with season-lows across the board. But a clutch defensive turnover gave them new life in the third quarter, kicking off an incredible comeback from a 14-point deficit fueled by another sensational MVP performance by Lamar Jackson. Typically, a monster game from Ja’Marr Chase spells doom, but Baltimore’s high-octane offense got in gear and returned to being the unstoppable unit that has led the league for most of the season. There are still a lot of things to clean up on both sides of the ball, but as long as Jackson is leading this team, the Ravens have a chance to overcome any deficit and win any game. Hopefully, Kyle Hamilton’s injury is not serious, because this defense clearly cannot afford to be without him for an extended period of time. Derrick Henry should’ve gotten the ball more in this game, especially after the Ravens took the lead, but they still found a way to finish on both sides of the ball and special teams with the onside recovery. — Joshua Reed
Another thriller between the Ravens and the Bengals once again came down to the final play. The offense didn’t wake up through until partway through the second half, but still somehow scored 35 points. Such a performance was expected, but it could have been even more if the team didn’t come out so flat. Defensively, the Ravens are a complete train wreck. They certainly had their moments, including some much needed pass rush, but the coverage breakdowns continue to be an issue. Ja’Marr Chase ran by the secondary multiple times and ended up with 264 yards and 3 TDs. With Tee Higgins out, the obvious strategy would seem to be taking the opposing team’s singular offensive threat out of the game. The secondary failed miserably. The health of Kyle Hamilton will be monitored in the coming days, and they cannot afford to lose him. While this offense is historically great, the defense, and more specifically the secondary, will be their undoing. — Stephen Bopst
The definition of highs and lows. The offense started abysmally and ended with 35 points. The defense had more stops than not against one of the better offenses of the league, especially considering the first two Bengals touchdown drives that had a bad penalty called on the first and Brandon Stephens’ interception taken away on the second. But the defense also let up countless big plays, including two extremely long touchdowns to Ja’Marr Chase. At the end of the day, both sides made the plays that needed to be made. Touchdown passes to Tylan Wallace, Mark Andrews, and Rashod Bateman in the fourth quarter from Lamar Jackson put the points on the board, and a massive forced fumble from Marlon Humphrey, a three-sack game from Nnamdi Madubuike, and the game-winning two-point stop by Ar’Darius Washington did just enough to secure a win. Both sides needed to be cleaner and better, but for a Thursday night game on a short week, the Ravens will certainly take the win. Here’s to a 10-day mini-bye week. — Zach Canter