Burrow, Chase lights up Ravens’ defense, but Bengals drop to 4-6

BALTIMORE — It seemed Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase had pulled it out on Thursday night towards Baltimore Ravens.

Throughout the primetime matchup against their AFC North rivals, Cincinnati’s star quarterback and wide receiver made plays when the Bengals needed them most, including a late touchdown that put Cincinnati in position to win the game.

But the Bengals fell one game short in a 35-34 loss to the Ravens. A failed two-point conversion with 38 seconds left wasted excellent performances from both players.

Burrow finished with 428 yards and four touchdowns on 34-of-56 passing. Chase turned in one of the best performances of his career – 11 catches, three touchdowns and 264 receiving yards. However, the effort was not enough to prevent the Bengals from losing their second and final regular season game against the Ravens this season.

“They’re the best duo in the league right now and they show it every week,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “We just feel like we have to hold up our end and things could be a lot different. But it just hasn’t gone our way this season.”

The Bengals (4-6) led 21-7 midway through the third quarter when Baltimore (7-3) made a huge break to get back into the game. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ripped the ball out of Bengals running back Chase Brown’s hands. The Ravens recovered the ball and then went on a 21-0 run to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

But Burrow and Chase did almost everything to keep the Bengals in contention. One play after the Ravens took the lead, Burrow immediately answered with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Chase that tied the score at 28-28.

With the Ravens regaining the lead with 1:49 left and Cincinnati needing a touchdown, Burrow leaned on Chase. At one point, Chase tied his career-high of 266 yards, which was set in 2021. A defensive penalty accepted by Cincinnati negated the play.

A few snaps later, Burrow found Chase for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the final minute. Cincinnati’s two-point attempt for the potential game-winning points failed when a Burrow pass to the tight end Tanner Hudson sailed a little high. Burrow had no qualms about the decision to go for it.

“We knew the situation we were in,” Burrow said.

As for Burrow and Chase, who have played with each other for six of the past seven seasons dating back to their college days at LSU, they turned in one of their best performances together. Chase was willing to defer to reporters when asked if Thursday night topped the list.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Burrow and Chase turned in “incredible” performances.

“I thought Ja’Marr stepped up in a big way,” Taylor said. “Every time we could find ways to get him the ball, I thought Joe did a great job with that. And Ja’Marr finished a lot of those plays for us. I thought they played outstanding.”

But what happened on Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium was the microcosm of the season.

By Week 10, Burrow and Chase had enjoyed two of the best seasons of their respective careers. Burrow finished second in Total QBR, trailing only the Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jacksonwho finished the game with 290 passing yards and four touchdowns. Chase was second in the league in receiving yards behind Minnesota Justin Jeffersontheir former teammate at LSU.

And when put in that lens, it was puzzling to Chase that the Bengals are still below the .500 mark through 10 games this season.

“It’s crazy to say that,” Chase said. “I would never in a million years expect that I would play this well and he plays this well and we still have a record like this.”

On top of that, Cincinnati also had the NFL’s leading sack leader, defensive end Trey Hendricksoncoming in Thursday night. It also added to the frustration.

“If you look at how we play and you look at Trey Hendrickson how he plays, yeah, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” Burrow said after the game. “But we’ve had our opportunities.

“Obviously it’s tough when you feel like you’re playing well enough to win and you don’t. But there’s always more to do.”