BALTIMORE — Joe Burrow brought some of Ja’Marr Chase’s Lucky Charms with him in his return to action Thursday night in Charm City.
The Bengals star quarterback was 24-of-46 passing for 261 yards and two touchdowns and Evan McPherson connected on all six field goal attempts, as the Bengals put themselves back in AFC North title conversation with a 29-14 win at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens had two touchdowns wiped out, one forced by Jordan Battle and the other by an offensive pass interference on Zay Flowers.
Burrow improved to 8-0 in his last eight starts, dating to last year’s five-game win streak to end the season. The Bengals improve to 4-8 and trail first-place Pittsburgh (6-5) by 2.5 games while Baltimore falls to 6-6. Cincinnati snapped a four-game skid and won for just the second time in 10 games since Burrow went down on Sept. 14. Baltimore had its five-game win streak snapped. Ja’Marr Chase had seven catches on 14 targets for 110 yards.
Burrow wasted no time getting into the flow of the game, driving the Bengals down to the Baltimore 13. But in what would be a common theme in the first half, had to settle for an Evan McPherson field goal from 31 yards. The Ravens responded with their only touchdown of the first half, a 28-yard Derrick Henry ramble through the Cincinnati defense for a 7-3.
Lamar Jackson did not look to be in his finest form, completing 17-of-32 for 246 yards. It was just the second loss in 12 career starts against the Bengals for Jackson. The Bengals put consistent pressure on Jackson all night and forced five Baltimore turnovers.
The Bengals would reach the red zone three times in the first half and came away with just two field goals. The third chance was the most infuriating for Bengals fans.
Joseph Ossai had a pair of key sacks in the first half, including one on Lamar Jackson at the Baltimore six that resulted in a strip fumble recovered by Cedric Johnson at the Baltimore 2.
The Bengals then had Joe Burrow in the shotgun four straight snaps with one Samaje Perine run for no gain and three incomplete passes and the Ravens maintained their 7-3 lead. The Bengals defense answered with a three-and-out and forced a punt. The Bengals drove to the Baltimore 24 and settled for a McPherson 42-yard field goal to cut the Ravens lead to one, 7-6.
Lamar Jackson hit tight end Isaiah Likely on a deep crosser. Likely beat Battle and appeared to be cruising in for a 44-yard touchdown, but Battle came from behind and knocked the ball out just as Likely was crossing the goal line. The touchdown was overturned by replay and the ball rolled through the end zone for a Bengal touchback. That play would mark the first of three huge breaks to help the Bengals build a 19-7 lead.
The second major break came on another apparent touchdown when Jackson found Zay Flowers for a 36-yard touchdown. But Flowers was called for pushing off on DJ Turner, a generous call to say the least. But the Bengals took full advantage when, three snaps later, Ossai broke through and sacked Jackson to push the Ravens out of field goal territory.
The third break came late in the half when Jackson appeared to bring the ball back into his body on a pass and lost the grip at the top of his throwing motion. Cedric Johnson recovered with 28 seconds left. But again, the Bengals failed in the red zone, falling to 0-for-4 in the first half. A 33-yard field goal gave the Bengals a 12-7 halftime lead.
In his first game back, Burrow was 15-of-32 in the first half for 165 yards and a sack. The 32 attempts were the second-most Burrow had ever attempted in his career in a first half.
The Bengals finally solved the red zone issue in the second half, thanks to a spectacular one-handed grab by Tanner Hudson in the back corner of the end zone. The 14-yard catch on third-and-9 was Burrow’s first touchdown pass back from injury and made it 19-7. The Ravens answered on a misdirection touchdown from Keaton Mitchell.
But the Bengals answered late in the third quarter, as Burrow found Andrei Iosivas on a skinny post over the middle from 29 yards out for the touchdown that put Cincinnati up, 26-14.
