Two halves, two completely different football teams. For 30 minutes on Sunday, it looked like the Bengals were still in the bye week. For the next 30, they look like the best team in the AFC North.
The final score was 35-13. Cincinnati improved to 4-2 and finally got the first division win. But a game like this deserves a full breakdown, warts and all.
Second half Joe. After halftime, Joe Burrow went 16-of-18 for 249 yards and four touchdowns, a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The Bengals scored on five straight possessions and put up 298 yards and 19 first downs in the second half alone. Burrow finished 22-of-30 for 292 yards and four scores. He has 15 touchdown passes in six games, his most at this point in a season.
Tee Higgins comes out when it counts. Higgins was shut out in the first half. In the second, he caught six passes for 148 yards, including a 44-yarder and the 13-yard go-ahead touchdown. It was his 17th career 100-yard game, and he surpassed 6,000 career receiving yards in the process.
No. 1 talks, No. 1 delivers. Burrow credited Ja’Marr Chase for lighting the fire at halftime. Chase then put the exclamation mark with a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth, his 10th career score against Baltimore.
The defense closed the door. Baltimore was scoreless after halftime. It committed five first downs on six second-half drives and returned it on fourth-and-2 downs at the Bengals’ 12 while trailing by one point. The Bengals scored on the next drive. For the day, Huntley was sacked four times, with Boye Mafe, Dexter Lawrence II and rookie Cashius Howell (his first career sack) all coming home. Demetrius Knight Jr. added. of interception.
Derrick Henry, bottled. Henry ran 17 times for 45 yards, a 2.6 average, and the Ravens averaged 3.1 yards a carry as a team. When you’re holding King Henry less than 50 yards, you’re doing something up front.
Tight ends and the punter. Mike Gesicki (6-yard touchdown, his fourth straight game with a score) and Drew Sample (16-yard touchdown) found the end zone. Ryan Rehkow dropped all four of his punts inside the 20.
The running game is still stuck in neutral. Chase Brown had 11 carries for 39 yards, and the backs combined for 61 yards on 18 carries. Samaje Perine scored a touchdown. The passing game carries it, but you can’t count on Burrow throwing for four touchdowns in a half every week. This offense needs to be able to run the ball when needed.
Huntley had a career day. A backup quarterback, including Lamar Jackson for the third straight game, threw for a career-high 298 yards against this defense. Zay Flowers caught eight passes for 137 yards, including a 48-yard screen for a touchdown on Baltimore’s first drive. The second half was great. But the secondary gave up too many explosive plays early, and the better quarterback made them pay.
Baltimore freed them. Baltimore had two red-zone trips in the first half that ended in field goals instead of touchdowns, and the Ravens committed 10 penalties for 57 yards. They were also in chip-shot field-goal range to start the fourth quarter but opted to go for it on fourth down and failed. If they cash in on even one of those trips, it’s a much tighter game.
The first half. There is no way to dress it up. At half time:
- Burrow was 6-of-12 for 43 yards.
- The Bengals had two first downs and crossed midfield once.
- Baltimore outgained them 258 to 59.
- The Ravens ran 39 plays to Cincinnati’s 19 and held the ball for 22:20 of the first 30 minutes.
- Baltimore converted 8 of 11 third downs, the most in a first half since 2018.
- Higgins had no catch.
FOX19’s Jeremy Rauch called it “probably the most incompetent half of the Joe Burrow era,” and I wouldn’t argue with him. The defense can’t get off the field, and the offense can’t stay on it. That’s how you end up 13-0 on a team that starts its backup quarterback.
The Bengals escaped this time. They won’t be going up against Buffalo, Kansas City, or whoever they see in January. The comeback is worthy of the headlines, but the coaching staff will have to spend this week figuring out why this team keeps popping up.
Injuries and Erick All Jr. in IR: The safety position fell apart in this one, with Bryan Cook, Kyle Dugger, and Jordan Battle all dinged up in one form or another. Cook and Battle return, but Dugger has a lingering injury.
All went on Injured Reserve this week, with fears that he’ll re-tear the ACL in the knee he’s done twice before. It was a sad end to his season, after returning early on the schedule this offseason and inserting himself into the offense.