The Ravens spent all summer touting their revamped, pass-happy offense under new coordinator Todd Monken, but they returned to their ground-and-pound roots at critical points in a supremely satisfying 27-24 win at Cincinnati on Sept. 17.
The Ravens (2-0) piled up 178 rushing yards and salted away the game’s final possession when running back Gus Edwards powered forward for a first down on third-and-1 with a little more than a minute to play, leaving head coach John Harbaugh pumping his fists excitedly on the sideline.
To be sure, Harbaugh and the Ravens exorcised some demons in Cincinnati, where the Bengals had knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs last season with a stunning 98-yard fumble return touchdown.
This time, the Ravens limped into Cincinnati minus several starters and yet they never trailed against the two-time defending AFC North champions. The Ravens took the lead for good at 13-10 on Justin Tucker’s second field goal of the game on the final play of the first half.
They twice opened the lead to 10 points in the second half on Lamar Jackson’s first two touchdown passes of the season, first to Mark Andrews and then to Nelson Agholor, only to have the Bengals answer.
But after the Bengals (0-2) cut the lead to 27-24 on Tee Higgins’ second touchdown catch with 3:28 left, they never touched the ball again. Jackson, Edwards and the Ravens executed their “four-minute” offense flawlessly to close out one of the more satisfying regular-season wins in recent history.
Here are five quick impressions of the win, the Ravens’ first in their past four trips to Cincinnati:
1. Lamar Jackson proved once again that he is a difference-maker.
Jackson missed the Ravens’ playoff loss at Cincinnati last year with a knee injury, and while the Ravens’ new offense is still working up to full speed, Jackson once again showed that he is a difference-maker. On the same field where he turned in the signature play of his career with his spin-move-for-the-ages touchdown run in 2019, Jackson was in command throughout.
He finished 24-for-33 for 237 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran 12 times for 54 yards, including a 12-yard scramble on third-and-3 on the final possession of the game. Jackson primarily worked the short middle of the field, spreading the ball to seven different pass-catchers. But he took a few shots downfield, most notably when he connected with Zay Flowers on a 52-yard bomb down the middle. Flowers’ diving catch in traffic set up a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews for a 20-10 Ravens lead.
Andrews, playing in his first game after missing the season opener with a quad injury, finished with five catches for 45 yards. Nelson Agholor also caught five passes, including a perfectly placed 17-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to the right sideline for a 27-17 lead. Agholor led Ravens receivers with 63 yards.
The Ravens did lose Odell Beckham Jr. (3-29) to an ankle injury, though head coach John Harbaugh said he does not think it’s serious.
Jackson frustrated the Bengals throughout with his ability to escape pressure, extend plays and either find receivers or run for first-down yardage.
Jackson and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow both were signed to whopping, franchise deals in the past few months to win games like this. Jackson delivered, moving to 7-1 as a starter against the Bengals.
2. The next men up delivered in the secondary …
The Ravens hobbled into Cincinnati without starting Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey (foot) and starting safety Marcus Williams (pec), a daunting proposition against a high-powered Bengals offense that ranked fifth in the league in passing last year.
But the next men up produced some of the biggest plays of the game, frustrating Burrow and his cast of elite receivers throughout. The biggest play came from safety Geno Stone, starting in place of Williams.
With the Bengals driving toward a potential go-ahead touchdown early in the third quarter, Stone stepped in front of Burrow’s pass near the goal line for an interception, returning the ball to the Ravens’ 38-yard line. The Ravens scored a touchdown four plays later for a stunning 14-point swing. Stone finished with a career-high nine tackles.
Earlier in the game, cornerback Rock Ya-Sin wrestled a potential touchdown pass away from All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase in the end zone, forcing an incompletion. Ya-Sin, Brandon Stephens and Ronald Darby all rotated at outside corner, and their press coverage frustrated and disrupted the Bengals’ passing attack. Ar’Darius Washington, essentially the starting slot corner with Damarion “Pepe” Williams on injured reserve, was heavily involved as well and finished with five tackles and a pass defensed.
Chase, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, had one catch for zero yards in the first half. He finished with five for 31, and the Ravens will take that production from Chase every day of the week. Burrow had struggled mightily in a Week 1 loss to Cleveland, and the perception was that in the home opener, he would get right against a battered, short-handed Ravens secondary. The next men up simply didn’t allow it.
3. … and they delivered on offense.
The work by the Next Men Up on defense might have been outdone by the ones on offense. The Ravens not only had lost running back J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending injury in Week 1 — a stunning blow that left teammates nearly in tears — but they also went to Cincinnati minus starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee) and starting center Tyler Linderbaum (ankle).
Without Dobbins, running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill anchored a run game that piled up 178 yards, and Patrick Mekari at left tackle and Sam Mustipher at center stepped up in a huge way.
Edwards averaged better than 6 yards a carry (10-62), and the line surged for him in short-yardage situations, including a 1-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring, and a third-and-1 conversion that essentially ended the game. The latter play came in a jumbo formation that included massive tackle Daniel Faalele also in the game next to Mekari.
Overall, the Ravens converted 9 of 14 third downs, including four runs by Edwards or Justice Hill (11-41) when they needed 3 yards or less.
Lamar Jackson, meanwhile, had all the time he needed most of the day. That included when he stepped into a 52-yard bomb to Zay Flowers. Jackson wasn’t sacked at all.
The Ravens have long praised Mekari for his versatility, as he can capably fill in anywhere up front. It’s a big reason they rewarded him with a three-year, $15 million deal in December 2021. It’s a big price tag for a backup offensive lineman, but over and over again, the plug-anywhere Mekari has shown his value.
Mustipher started 33 games across the past two seasons for Chicago, but the Owings Mills native was available as a free agent this spring. He didn’t even make the Ravens out of training camp, and he was a practice squad callup for this game and thrust into the starting lineup in place of Linderbaum.
Two weeks ago, neither Mekari nor Mustipher projected to be key players in this game, and yet they were both major reasons the Ravens walked out winners.
4. Mike Macdonald remains one step ahead of the Bengals.
In 21 games since the beginning of last season, including the playoffs, the Bengals have been held under 300 yards of total offense just seven times. It has happened all four times the Ravens have faced them in that span under second-year defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
Macdonald’s defense has consistently frustrated Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, affecting his rhythm and his timing, and led by Roquan Smith, the Ravens have flashed a fast, physical style that exacts a price. Smith is quickly becoming a resounding force in this burgeoning rivalry, something he relishes. He finished with five tackles, and fellow inside linebacker Patrick Queen ranged from sideline to sideline and finished with eight.
Burrow finished 27-for-41 for 222 yards, and the Bengals didn’t record a first down until midway through the second quarter. (They did, though, score before that, on an 81-yard punt return touchdown by Charlie Jones.)
In part because of the Ravens’ ball control, and that punt return score, the Bengals had only seven possessions in the game. Three ended in three-and-outs and one in an interception. In the first half, the Bengals totaled 63 yards, and Burrow completed 8 of 11 passes for a paltry 35 yards.
Burrow and the Bengals did start to find some momentum in the second half, but the Ravens prevented the big play; the longest catch by Chase went for 13 yards, and no receiver had a catch longer than 20.
To be sure, Macdonald won’t like the 16-play, 80-yard touchdown drive Burrow put together in the fourth quarter, including a fourth-and-4 conversion, and he won’t like yet another avoidable penalty on defensive lineman Justin Madubuike. But his defense was up to the task again, and when coaches want to try to figure out how to slow Burrow and the Bengals, Macdonald would be a good person to call.
5. The Ravens took a big first step in the AFC North race.
This game began a rugged stretch in which the Ravens face all three AFC North rivals on the road in a span of four weeks. That stretch couldn’t have started any better, and now the Ravens can sit back and watch “Monday Night Football” on Sept. 18 between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, giving them a good early scouting report of the Ravens’ divisional opponents in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively.
Lest anyone get ready to write off the Bengals, it’s worth remembering they started 0-2 last season –including a listless season opener in which Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky outplayed Joe Burrow. The Bengals went 12-2 the rest of the season and won their second straight AFC North title before bouncing the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs.
The Bengals still figure to have much to say about this division race, but they already have two division losses and look like a team that has a lot to figure out. The Ravens, short-handed or not, leave Cincinnati riding high, having made a loud opening statement that will resonate throughout the AFC North. Yes, it’s one week at a time, and yes it’s early, but the Ravens by virtue of this win should be tabbed the favorites for now.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox