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

BALTIMORE — It looked like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase had it made Thursday night against the 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 2-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 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 game at 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 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 2-point attempt for the potential game-winning points failed when a Burrow pass to tight end Tanner Hudson sailed 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 addressed 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 Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium was a microcosm of the season.

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

So the fact that the Bengals are still below the .500 mark through 10 games was puzzling to Chase.

“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 Hendrickson, coming in Thursday night. That 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.”