BALTIMORE –– In every single loss the Cincinnati Bengals have had against the Baltimore Ravens over the last three seasons, there was always a moment that showed why the Ravens were Super Bowl contenders and the Bengals didn’t have any hope of making the playoffs.
There was the time Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson spun around Bengals linebacker Nick Vigil on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run. There was the time Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw a deep pass to wide receiver A.J. Green, and Green stopped his route without making an effort to catch the ball. There was the time the Bengals allowed a franchise-record 404 rushing yards.
But then with 6:02 left in the third quarter on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase caught a slant in a one-on-one matchup against one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Then Chase broke a tackle. Then he spun around another. Then he sprinted to the end-zone for an 82-yard touchdown.
And everything changed.
The Bengals beat the Ravens 41-17 on Sunday, and Cincinnati became the first-place team in the AFC North. Burrow had a career-high 416 passing yards and outplayed Jackson, a former MVP. Chase continued his historic rookie year with his best game of the season. For the seventh time in seven games, the Bengals defense put the team in position to win.
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"It’s a different team," head coach Zac Taylor said. "We endured a lot of things that put us in this position. I told the team I’ve given a lot of tough speeches speaking where I just stood in that locker room. There are great things to come."
In their biggest game since 2015, the Bengals window as contenders in the AFC officially opened.
Heading into the game, Jackson had a 5-0 record against the Bengals. Cincinnati hadn’t even scored a touchdown against Baltimore since 2019 when quarterback Ryan Finley threw a touchdown to tight end Tyler Eifert.
Most of the Bengals roster has changed since then, and so has the direction of the team. In 2019, the Bengals were trending toward the No. 1 overall pick. In 2021, they outplayed one of the best teams in the NFL in a road game with the division lead on the line.
"We just got tough, resilient guys that don’t back down under pressure," Burrow said. "That (Ravens) team puts the most pressure on you than any team in the league… It was a good day."
Burrow looked as confident as he has been all season. He spun out of a few sacks, hit Chase on back-shoulder throws and turned two deep passes to tight end C.J. Uzomah into touchdowns. Chase also had a career game, beating All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey in one-on-one coverage and getting 201 receiving yards in just the first three quarters.
The Bengals defense used a completely new game plan to keep Jackson on the run, off-balanced and under pressure. With a new-look defense that used three starting linebackers and a blitz-heavy approach, Cincinnati’s defense had the best game it’s ever played against Jackson.
On the first drive of the third quarter, Jackson threw a touchdown pass that gave the Ravens a 17-13 lead. After that, the Bengals played their best football since they last made the playoffs in 2015.
"We’re building something that’s special," defensive end Trey Hendrickson said. "This is a stepping stone for where we want to go as a defense and as a team."
On the following drive, four Ravens defenders bought Burrow’s pump fake to wide receiver Tyler Boyd. The Ravens weren’t expecting Uzomah to play such a significant role in the passing game, and Burrow found Uzomah wide open over the middle for a 32-yard touchdown.
With Uzomah’s touchdown, the Bengals took a 20-17 lead on a glaring mistake by the Ravens defense. Then Cincinnati took advantage of another one when they got the ball back. Burrow connected with Chase for the 82-yard touchdown as the Bengals took a two-score lead.
"Today I surprised myself putting up those stats," Chase said. "It's 201 yards. Something you dream of.”
The Bengals defense allowed just one-or-two first downs on four consecutive drives, and Burrow, Chase and Uzomah led the Bengals to a 27-17 lead at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Bengals running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine each had touchdown runs of 20-or-more yards. The Bengals offense had more yards on Sunday than it’s had in any game with head coach Zac Taylor, and they scored their most points of the season.
Last year, Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley finished the game for the Ravens in a blowout win. On Sunday, the Bengals victory was so decisive that Huntley entered the game in a blowout loss.
As Ravens fans left en masse in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Bengals fans moved up to the first few rows of the stadium and celebrated having a contender.
"It’s hard to even describe what we’ve been through the last couple years," defensive end Sam Hubbard said. "It’s a great feeling to feel this victory. We’ve got a lot of football left to play."
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