ExtremeRavens Posted November 8 Posted November 8 The NFL’s best offense and its two-time and reigning NFL Most Valuable Player could only be contained for so long. It took more than a half of football, but the Ravens and Lamar Jackson finally woke up Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Faced with a 14-point third-quarter deficit — their largest of the season — Jackson put together four straight touchdown drives to lead Baltimore to a wild 35-34 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in a key AFC North showdown. That included what ended up being the game-winner with 1:56 remaining, as Jackson connected with wide receiver Rashod Bateman on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cap an 11-play, 70-yard drive and lift Baltimore to its seventh victory in its last eight games and a season sweep of the Bengals. Jackson finished 25-for-33 for 290 yards and four touchdown passes, giving him 24 on the season and tying him with Burrow for the most in the NFL. Even with that performance, though, it took Baltimore’s bend-but-don’t-break defense hanging on by the narrowest of margins in the end. Down seven inside the final two minutes, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (34-for-56 passing, 428 yards, four touchdowns) drove Cincinnati 70 yards in nine plays with Ja’Marr Chase making a leaping 5-yard touchdown grab in the back corner of the end zone with 42 seconds left to pull the Bengals within one. Cincinnati opted to go for a 2-point conversion to take the lead, but Burrow’s pass — during which he took a questionable hit to the helmet — to tight end Tanner Hudson was too high, and Baltimore recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal it. The victory improves the Ravens to 7-3 and keeps them within reach of the first-place 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Bengals fall to 4-6 and face a long road to making the playoffs. For a while, though, it looked like Baltimore’s offense had finally run out of momentum. With the Ravens down 21-7 after Burrow hit Chase on a 67-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, cornerback Marlon Humphrey stripped running back Chase Brown on the Bengals’ next possession, linebacker Roquan Smith recovered and the Ravens took over at Cincinnati’s 31-yard line. The defensive stand energized the crowd, which was booing the poor offensive performance earlier in the game, and the offense came back to life. Jackson hit Bateman for 8 yards, Henry shot through the defense for 11 and then Jackson does what he does better than any quarterback in the league. On a second-and-9 from the 11, he waited and waited for someone to come open. No one did. He was chased out of the pocket, backtracked to the 32-yard line, then juked, weaved and tip-toed to the 1-yard line, setting up a Henry plunge to cut the deficit to 21-14 midway through the third quarter. Ravens vs. Bengals in NFL Week 10 game | PHOTOS Baltimore took even less time to score on its next possession. After stopping the Bengals on third down to force a punt, the Ravens got the ball on their own 8 early in the fourth quarter and needed just three plays to go 92 yards, with Tylan Wallace covering 84 of them after catching a short pass from Jackson, narrowly staying in bounds while avoiding several tackles and then racing down the left sideline for the longest touchdown pass of Jackson’s career. The only problem? Justin Tucker, who entered the game 498-for-504 on extra point attempts, missed the ensuing kick, leaving Baltimore trailing 21-20. It was only a momentary blip. Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman catches the game-winning touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. (Staff) On the Ravens’ next series, Jackson drove Baltimore 65 yards in seven plays, capping the series with a short pass to Andrews for an 18-yard touchdown. Then Jackson raced around the left side of the line and into the end zone on a 2-point conversion, putting the Ravens up 28-21 with less than six minutes remaining. The Bengals shot right back, with Chase again getting behind the defense on a 70-yard bomb to tie the game. Chase finished the game with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Chase finished with 457 receiving yards against Baltimore in their two meetings, the most by any wide receiver against one team in a single season. But the Ravens answered right back with Jackson’s touchdown to Bateman. It was a momentous turnaround from a first half in which Jackson threw for just 71 yards and a touchdown. The rushing attack also never got going, with Derrick Henry getting just six carries for 22 yards in the opening 30 minutes. But Henry finished with 16 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown, giving him at least one score in all 10 games as a Raven. This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Tim Schwartz at timschwartz@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/timschwartz13. Ravens outside linebacker Odafe Oweh pressures Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow during the first quarter Thursday night. (Staff) View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.