The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football in another shootout, 35-34. The second half was particularly insane as both offenses moved up and down the field. But it was not always like that. The Ravens’ offense was sluggish and out of sorts, leading to a 21-7 deficit in the third quarter.
Then, the game’s crucial moment occurred, which Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson referred to as the moment that “woke us up.”
Cincinnati was facing a 2nd-and-5 on their 27-yard line. Bengals running back Chase Brown, who was having a fantastic game to that point, was stripped by Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Roquon Smith recovered the fumble, and the Ravens were suddenly in business.
Five plays later, Derrick Henry scored his league-leading 12th touchdown of the year. Baltimore would go on to score two more times and take a 28-21 lead. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was not fazed, though. He hit Ja’Marr Chase for a quick 70-yard touchdown pass, which set an NFL record.
Jackson and the Ravens offense, which was completely unstoppable after the Brown fumble, re-took the lead. Jackson found Rashod Bateman on a jump pass for a five-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 remaining.
It was Burrow’s turn. The Bengals signal-caller led Cincinnati on a nine-play, 70-yard drive, culminating in Chase’s third touchdown reception of the game. Instead of kicking the extra point and likely forcing overtime, the Bengals went for the win.
Related Baltimore Ravens NewsArticle continues below
Burrow attempted to hit his backup tight end, Tanner Hudson, for the win. The pass was slightly overthrown and fell incomplete. Albeit, there was a blatant defensive holding call that was missed.
Nevertheless, the Ravens escaped with another thrilling victory over their division rival. Baltimore is now only percentage points behind the Pittsburgh Steelers for the top spot in the AFC North. But life is not all good for Baltimore, as they lost Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton early in the game due to injury.