Playing in the coldest game in Ravens history, Baltimore’s defense was as hot as it’s been all season.
The Ravens scored one defensive touchdown, flustered Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow all day and recorded their first shutout in seven years as the visiting Ravens thrashed the Bengals, 24-0, at frozen Paycor Stadium on Dec. 14.
The win avenged the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to Cincinnati at M&T Bank Stadium on Thanksgiving night and kept the Ravens (7-7) in contention for the AFC North title. The Bengals (4-10) are officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
With a gametime temperature of 9 degrees, this proved to be the coldest game in Ravens history. The previous coldest had been the “Mile High Miracle” playoff game in Denver during the 2012 postseason, with a gametime temperature of 13 degrees.
And while both offenses scuffled early in the cold, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes that gave the Ravens a 14-0 halftime lead.
Midway through the second quarter, Jackson countered a Cincinnati blitz with a swing pass to Rasheen Ali in the right flat. Ali found an open lane down the sideline for a 30-yard touchdown — the first score of his career — and a 7-0 Ravens lead.
Late in the first half, the Ravens drove 80 yards in just over a minute. By then, Jackson was warming up. He floated a pass to Mark Andrews for 14 yards to the Bengals’ 28-yard line, then lofted a perfectly placed pass down the left sideline to Zay Flowers for a 28-yard touchdown and a 14-0 halftime lead.
Burrow, meanwhile, couldn’t get going in the frigid weather. He and All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase misfired several times, including an interception by Marlon Humphrey after it deflected off Chase’s hands.
Burrow was 8-for-16 for 71 yards in the first half.
He and Chase did heat up in the second half — Chase finished with 10 catches for 132 yards — but the damage was contained, and the Bengals’ best scoring chance turned into a stunning touchdown for the Ravens. With the Bengals deep in the Ravens red zone midway through the fourth quarter, Burrow’s pass over the middle was intercepted by linebacker Kyle Van Noy at the 5-yard line. He ran 11 yards up the right sideline before handing the ball to safety Alohi Gilman, who outran everyone for an exclamation-point touchdown.
Here are five quick impressions of the win, which makes Jackson 5-0 in five career starts in Cincinnati:
1. This was Zach Orr’s finest hour as defensive coordinator.
The stakes couldn’t have been higher for this Ravens team, which needed a win to hold on to a reasonable chance for a postseason berth. And they were facing a quarterback who has tormented them repeatedly over the years.
But Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr made Joe Burrow look nothing like the Joe Burrow who has thrown for more than 400 yards three times against the Ravens. In this game, Burrow struggled early, and both the weather and the Ravens defense had a hand in that.
Pressure disrupted Burrow’s pocket at times, and more than once he looked unsuccessfully for a flag as he was picking himself off the frozen turf.
Burrow and Chase struggled to get going early, and when Burrow connected with others, such as running back Chase Brown, the Ravens had a body or two on the pass-catcher immediately. Brown finished with seven catches, but none of them went for more than 9 yards. Gilman was all over the field and finished with eight tackles, tied for his highest total as a Raven.
Gilman’s touchdown illustrated just how the Ravens stayed a step ahead. With the Bengals driving for a touchdown that would at least keep a last gasp of a comeback alive, Kyle Van Noy lined up as if he’d be rushing off Burrow’s left edge. He took two steps, then dropped into coverage over the middle — right where Burrow threw the pass.
Van Noy picked it off — his first interception in four years — and ran 11 yards before handing the ball off to Gilman, who sprinted 86 yards for a touchdown.
Orr, in his second year as defensive coordinator, took the lion’s share of the heat earlier this season as the Ravens stumbled to a 1-5 start. His job status was a hot topic. To his credit, the well-liked Orr brushed aside criticism and insisted each week that he and his charges were focused on the next game. This was Orr’s finest hour in two years in charge of the Ravens defense.
2. The Ravens’ long-maligned pass rush showed up in spades.
Two weeks ago, the Bengals came out of halftime and compiled two straight touchdown drives as they pulled away to a 32-14 win at M&T Bank Stadium.
They appeared to be doing the same as they methodically marched down the field on their first drive of the game. Facing third-and-4 from the Ravens’ 25-yard line, Burrow dropped back to pass but was chased down by Tavius Robinson. He dropped the quarterback for a 15-yard loss that took the Bengals out of field-goal range on one of their only good scoring chances all day.
In addition to his big first-quarter sack, Robinson — playing for the first time in two months after being activated from injured reserve (foot) a day earlier — was bearing down when Burrow rushed a pass over the middle that was picked off by Van Noy and ultimately returned for a touchdown by Gilman.
The Ravens finished with three sacks, matching their season high. Travis Jones got one fresh off his contract extension and Mike Green recorded one on the final play of the first half.
Dre’Mont Jones didn’t officially record a sack, but he was in the backfield all day for the Ravens, and he got in the heads of Bengals’ players, too. Jones finished with five quarterback hits, and the Ravens totaled 10, tied for the second-highest total of the season. When Bengals’ players took exception after one hit along the sideline, Jones got in their faces with a gesture as if they were crying.
Travis Jones, Dre’Mont Jones and Robinson helped set a physical tone for the Ravens that the Bengals couldn’t match. That’s the kind of impact pressure the Ravens will continue to need if they expect to make a late push to reach the postseason.
3. The Ravens signed Derrick Henry for days like this.
It seems each week, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken stress how important the running game is for their team. That becomes especially true in frigid weather when both throws and catches are more challenging.
Led by Derrick Henry, this Ravens running attack is built for outdoor December football. And late in a lost season, it seemed some Bengals wanted no part of the 252-pound Henry barreling at them with a full head of steam. Credit should also go to the Ravens offensive line, which helped pave the way for both Henry and Keaton Mitchell to slice through the Bengals. (Tackle Ronnie Stanley provided a scare when he limped off with an apparent ankle injury, but the prognosis is good for him.)
Henry finished with 11 carries for 100 yards, including gains of 29 and 24 on back-to-back plays. Mitchell again was good for a breakout run; he totaled 66 yards on eight carries, including a 22-yarder. Jackson also ran twice for 26 yards as the Ravens averaged nearly 8 yards per carry (24 for 189).
The Ravens won’t be facing the Bengals’ 32nd-ranked run defense over the next three weeks; New England and Green Bay, the next two opponents, both boast top-10 run defenses. But all three of the Ravens remaining games will be played outdoors, in late December or early January weather when anything is possible.
Being able to run the ball consistently is paramount this time of year to move the chains, control the clock — especially with a lead — and keep the other offense on the sideline. This is Derrick Henry time.
4. A little rest did Lamar Jackson good.
For the first time in a month, Lamar Jackson wasn’t listed on the official injury report, but he didn’t practice this past Wednesday for what was deemed a rest day. It’s highly unusual for a starting quarterback to take a rest day during the season — a customary practice for some older veterans — but head coach John Harbaugh said this week that what’s most important is “for [Jackson] to be ready to play his best on Sunday.”
Playing in frigid weather, Jackson outplayed Burrow, operating with efficiency and showing better touch on the ball than Burrow. Jackson threw just 12 passes, but he completed eight of them, including two touchdowns.
Jackson’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers was perfectly placed down the left sideline, and Jackson and Flowers nearly connected on another score that glanced off Flowers’ fingertips in the back of the end zone.
Jackson was intercepted once, on a ball that glanced off Flowers’ hands.
He also ran twice for 26 yards, although both appeared to be scrambles rather than designed runs. Still, the past two weeks, Jackson has looked to have a little more burst with his legs than he did earlier, when he was sidelined at various points in practice or games by hamstring, ankle, knee and toe injuries.
It remains to be seen if Wednesday rest will become a usual occurrence for Jackson, and it would open him to scrutiny if he performed poorly without the practice reps. But in this game, the rest seemed to do him good.
5. For at least another week, the division race is back on.
Ravens coaches and players this past week stressed that they control their own destiny, which is true; if they win their final three games, they will win the division. (It could come down to a third tiebreaker, the record vs. common opponents.) Players also stressed last week — and surely will do it again this week — that the goal is to go 1-0 on Sunday.
Make no mistake; a loss at Cincinnati, while not mathematically eliminating the Ravens, would have put a severe strain on their postseason hopes. Instead, the Ravens regroup with a huge win after a pair of division losses and will await the “Monday Night Football” matchup between the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) and the resurgent Miami Dolphins (6-7), who take a four-game winning streak to Pittsburgh. A Miami win would put the Ravens right back into a tie atop the middling division.
Going 1-0 for the Ravens won’t be easy from here on out. In a pair of games that have been flexed to prime time, the Ravens host the New England Patriots this coming Sunday night at 8:20. The Patriots (11-3) are coming off a 35-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills, and they come to Baltimore with a lot on the line. They are trying to hold off the Bills for the AFC East title and are still in contention for the AFC’s No. 1 overall seed.
Then the Ravens visit Lambeau Field on Dec. 27 for a Saturday night matchup against Green Bay (9-4-1), which could be playing for a division title.
For now, though, the Ravens did their part. They went 1-0 this week. And that’s enough to keep the postseason hope flickering just a little more brightly in this strange season.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox