‘We came here to win’

Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor knew his club would have to be aggressive Thursday night in Baltimore. The coach came out in the first quarter and went after it on fourth down and stuck to the plan. He chose to go for two points and the lead after a late touchdown instead of an extra point.

The count was right, but Joe Burrows’ throw to Tanner Hudson flew wide and the Bengals fell, 35-34. Taylor didn’t second guess his choice.

“We came here to win,” he said via the team’s official website. “We had our opportunity. We got down there, went for two and it just didn’t work for us. This team will continue to put us in good positions, there will be a point in the season where it turns. We will respond to the right way from this game.”

An explosive back-and-forth battle saw the Ravens erase a 21-7 lead in the third quarter in an instant. Cincinnati’s defense allowed Lamar Jackson to cut it up like a Thanksgiving bird. Baltimore scored touchdowns on its final four possessions. The inability to get a stop colored Taylor’s decision to go for two. Instead of allowing a potential overtime coin to decide his team’s fate, Taylor left the ball in Burrows’ hand.

Taylor said he knew before the touchdown to pull within one point that he would choose to try to take the lead.

“Yeah. There’s a timing situation where I can’t get into the specifics, but there’s a chance you might get a three-and-out, get the ball back if you just tied it and you kick a game… winning field goal,” he said. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get the ball back.”

There was no argument from the stars.

“We knew the situation we were in,” Burrow said of going for two.

“Hell yeah. I agree 100 percent,” added Ja’Marr Chase.