FULL SCORE
- Burrow, Bengals heat up, pull away in QB comeback. In his first drives in the first outing since a Week 2 toe injury sidelined his season and Cincinnati 2025, Joe Burrow looked stiff as a board in the bitter Baltimore cold. But once the QB’s blood started flowing, he found his rhythm and the Bengals found their bite. Cincy couldn’t find the end zone after four drives into the red zone in the first half, but scored 20 points in the second. An early mishap with Ja’Marr Chase eventually translated into a reliable battery. Burrow completed seven of 14 targets to the star WR (also returning, but from suspension) for 110 yards and found Chase time and time again on the edge. Burrow leaned into the short game early and was also successful at the second level, hitting Tanner Hudson and Andrei Iosivas for intermediate and deep passes in the third quarter. The Bengals’ defense, which had been vicious all season, looked energized by the signal-caller’s return. Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy rushed Lamar Jackson all night, with the former piling up two sacks (one a forced fumble) on the Ravens QB. Cincy allowed just 346 yards and 14 points to its division rival, its best performance since Week 1. Will the Bengals rebound be too little, too late? Maybe. But Burrow’s return is nonetheless a boon for a Cincinnati outfit that needs to renew its morale before the stretch run.
- Lamar leaves the field again as the Ravens give up the league lead. Lamar Jackson entered Thursday’s game with his third lower-body injury in as many weeks — leaving him with just as many gifts. When the two-time MVP wasn’t popping up or shorting passes against Cincinnati, Jackson (17 of 32, 246 yards) was uncomfortable and made silly mistakes. The Ravens QB fumbled twice in his own red zone in the first half and then, amid one of Baltimore’s better drives of the night, threw a turkey of a deflected interception in Cincy’s red zone in the fourth quarter, a turnover that effectively sealed the upset loss. It was Baltimore’s fourth of five turnovers on the night, the franchise’s most turnovers in a single game since September 2013. Jackson showed some crack on a few runners, but his mobility was less of a weapon than it could have been against one of the league’s worst run defenses. The ravens were well on the ground in gallops; Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell scored twice and averaged 6.6 yards per carry. But Baltimore, playing from behind, couldn’t lean on the run. The Ravens should have been much closer in Thursday’s contest. Jackson hit Isaiah Likely on a 43-yard field goal in the second quarter that should have been six and a 14-6 lead. But the tight end was stripped at the 1-inch line and out of the end zone by Jordan Battle. Even then, Cincy only converted that drive into three points; The Bengals turned the Ravens’ five games into just four field goals. But Jackson and Baltimore’s offense had no response.
- AFC North still on the offensive. The Ravens’ five-game winning streak is gone, as is their brief stay atop the AFC North. At 6-6, Baltimore enters Sunday’s games out of the playoff race, giving Pittsburgh the edge (6-5). However, the Ravens have a chance to flip the script again in the coming weeks. Baltimore hosts Pittsburgh in Week 14, travels to Cincinnati for a rematch in Week 15 and finishes the season at the Steelers. Win all three of those, or at least two, and the Ravens are in prime position to win the North. As for the Bengals, they’re not dead yet. While Cincy fans certainly hoped that the Joe Flacco acquisition resulted in more than one win in Joe Burrow’s absence, they will take their shot at a division crown with five games to go. After a week 14 clash in Buffalo, Cincy ends up with the Ravens, Dolphins, Cardinals and Browns. All are winnable games. Can Burrow and Co pull off the impossible?
Next Gen Stats Insight for Bengals-Ravens (via NFL Pro): The Bengals defense produced a 39.5% pressure on Lamar Jackson in their win over the Ravens, their second-highest pressure percentage in a game this season. Joseph Ossai led the team with six pressures and two sacks, the second-most in a game this season, while Myles Murphy added five to tie for a season high. Cincinnati held the Ravens to a 38.6% success rate and -23.9 EPA on the night, both season lows for the Bengals defense.
NFL Research: It’s the first time in Lamar Jackson’s career that a Ravens QB has started three consecutive starts without a touchdown. Jackson had thrown for a TD in each of his last 30 starts before this streak.