Bengals-Ravens: Lamar Jackson’s 4 TD passes power Baltimore as it rallies and stops late 2-point conversion attempt to win, 35-34

On By Littum

The Cincinnati Bengals weren’t going to give Lamar Jackson a shot to beat them in overtime.

After Ja’Marr Chase scored his third touchdown of the game with 38 seconds left in a monster night for him and Joe Burrow, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn’t hesitate to call for the 2-point conversion. Jackson was fantastic Thursday night, as he has been all season. The Bengals would take their chance on a play from the 2-yard line rather than whatever happened in overtime.

It was probably the right call, but it didn’t work out.

Burrow threw incomplete to Tanner Hudson on the 2-point attempt, and the Ravens held on for a thrilling 35-34 victory. It’s two tough losses for the Bengals against the Ravens this season, to go with a 41-38 overtime loss back in Week 5.

In the 2-point conversion, the broadcast showed there might have been two missed calls on the Ravens, a defensive hold and a possible roughing the pass penalty. Neither was called, and the Ravens went on to win.

Burrow was great, Chase was unstoppable, but the Bengals couldn’t close the door on a much-needed win in Baltimore. Burrow has been a small step from Jackson, who threw four touchdowns, including a go-ahead score with less than two minutes left, and the Bengals haven’t been good enough to outlast the Ravens. It could cost them a playoff spot.

Burrow had 428 yards and three touchdowns, Chase had 264 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough. The Bengals are 4-6 this season after a tough loss in which they led by 14 points in the second half. They can’t blame Burrow or the offense. The Ravens have just been better.

They have done everything against the Ravens this season but win.

The first time the Bengals and Ravens met, they combined for 79 points in perhaps the NFL’s best game of the season. Then there was a low-scoring first half on Thursday night. Turns out the offenses needed some time to warm up. If the first Bengals-Ravens meeting wasn’t the game of the year this NFL season, Thursday night might take that honor.

The game was tied 7-7 at the end of the first half. After an interception was overturned because Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens didn’t stay in bounds, Burrow hit Tanner Hudson for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 30 seconds left before halftime.

Then the second half turned into a fantastic offensive show, just like the first meeting between the teams.

Chase made a huge play early in the third quarter with his acceleration. He caught a pass from Burrow, turned upfield and flew past the Ravens’ secondary. Baltimore seemed startled by his outburst. That 67-yard score gave the Bengals a 21-7 lead. It looked like Cincinnati was headed for a huge win, but the Bengals made a big mistake by letting the Ravens back into the game.

Chase Brown had the ball ripped out of his hands and the Ravens recovered the fumble. Jackson made the type of play that only he can make as he kept dropping back until he was beyond the 30-yard line, eventually getting around the defense and running the tightrope down the sideline all the way to the 1. That set up a Derrick Henry. touchdown. Suddenly, the Ravens were back in the game, down 21-14.

It was a heavyweight match after that with each offense landing massive punches.

The Bengals defense let up and it cost Cincinnati a long touchdown. On a short pass to Tylan Wallace, a fourth-year receiver who had never scored a TD from scrimmage in his career, the Bengals apparently thought he was out of bounds and let loose just a bit. Wallace kept running and went all the way down the sideline for an 84-yard score. Justin Tucker surprisingly missed the extra point, but the Ravens had cut Cincinnati’s lead to 21-20.

Cincinnati had a strange sequence after that, with Burrow throwing deep on third-and-2 and again on fourth down, both times falling incomplete. Cincinnati must wish they had those two decisions back. The Bengals went from having the game under control to seemingly having no idea how to reel it back in. The Ravens went on a long drive after that, and Mark Andrews caught an 18-yard touchdown on a third-and-9. The 2-point conversion gave Baltimore a 28-21 lead. The Bengals had the ball and a 14-point lead, and a little more than a quarter later, they trailed with 5:50 left.

Burrow knew what he had to do. He threw deep to Chase, who torched the Ravens’ secondary for a 70-yard touchdown. Chase had 238 yards at that point and the game was tied again.

But the Bengals needed a stop, and that won’t be easy against Jackson and the Ravens. For all the big plays in the second half, the Ravens’ approach was a series of short gains that moved the chains. On third and goal, Jackson lofted a touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman for a 5-yard touchdown and a 35–28 lead with 1:49 left.

Burrow had one more shot, though with no timeouts remaining. The Bengals converted a fourth-and-10, with Andrei Iosivas barely making it to the first down line. A face mask penalty gave the Bengals 15 more yards. Chase caught a long pass and the Ravens were called for working the passer on the play. That put the Bengals at the Ravens’ 12-yard line. The Bengals scored on Chase’s touchdown and went for the 2-point conversion, but didn’t get it.

Cincinnati had a great shot to sweep the Ravens, but couldn’t pull out either win. They can regret both losses over a long offseason.

Live84 updates

  • The Bengals have gone up 31-21 and 21-7 in two games against the Ravens this season. Both ended in shootout losses.

  • This is going to be something worth talking about. The officials missed some obvious things on the game-clinching two-point conversion attempt.

  • Some statistics

    Lamar Jackson: 25-of-33 for 290 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He now has the NFL lead in TD passes with 24.

    Derrick Henry: 68 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. He remains the NFL leader in rushing yards and touchdowns.

    Ja’Marr Chase: 11 catches, 264 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. A monster game that moves him into the NFL lead in receiving yards and keeps him ahead in receiving touchdowns.

    Joe Burrow: 34-of-56 for 428 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He once again feasted on a limited Ravens secondary.

  • FINAL: Ravens 35, Bengals 34

    The Ravens get the sack and this game is over. Baltimore wins a wild one to move to 7-3, while the Bengals fall to 4-6. Lamar Jackson has now won 10 of his last 11 games against the Bengals.

  • Mike Gesicki was upset after the refs missed what looked like a pretty obvious defensive line.

  • NO GOOD: Bengals still down by a point

    Joe Burrow didn’t even look at Ja’Marr Chase on the left side of the field and instead threw to Tanner Hudson, who didn’t get it. It was some physical defense on both Hudson and Mike Gesicki, but no penalties on the play.

    The Ravens can now win here by catching the onside kick.

  • The Bengals lined up to go for two, but Zac Taylor runs in to call timeout

  • TOUCHDOWN: Ja’Marr Chase gets his 3rd TD

    Who else could it be? Joe Burrow finds an open Ja’Marr Chase and now the Bengals are down by two.

  • On a sloppy night for the Ravens defense, they saved their sloppiest for last. They are called offside on a Bengals incompletion and Cincinnati is at the 7. The Bengals still have one timeout.

  • Ja’Marr Chase is up to 10 catches, 259 receiving yards and two touchdowns tonight. God help you if you face him in fantasy.

  • And now a roughing the passer penalty that turns an 18-yard Ja’Marr Chase catch into a 32-yard gain. They’re at the 12-yard line now.

  • Marlon Humphrey is called for the Ravens’ ninth penalty of the night. This time it’s a face mask that moves the Bengals to the Ravens’ 45-yard line. 1:11 still to go.

  • The call stands and the Bengals still have 60 yards to go with 1:36 left and a timeout remaining.

  • The Bengals get the conversion after Burrow weathers a blitz and finds Andrei Iosivas right at the first-down line. The refs review the first-down call and it’s hard to see any reason to overturn it.

  • Oh, looks like the refs missed a face mask on Nnamdi Madubuike on a Joe Burrow incomplete pass. The next one is also incomplete and now the Bengals face 4th and 10.

  • TOUCHDOWN: Ravens go ahead on Lamar Jackson’s 4th TD of the night

    Jackson goes back to Bateman and it’s a touchdown this time. The Bengals get the ball back with 1:49 left and one timeout. With how quickly they’ve scored tonight, this game is nowhere near over.

  • Huge break for the Bengals after the Ravens chose to throw on 2nd-and-goal. Lamar Jackson’s pass to Rashod Batemen falls incomplete, stopping the clock.

  • This play has reached the two minute warning, with the Ravens on 2nd and goal at the Bengals’ 5. Cincinnati has just one timeout left and won’t have much time if they hold the Ravens to a field goal here.