Lamar Jackson’s heroics elevate the Ravens above the Bengals, but the defense must do its part
BALTIMORE – He led the Baltimore Ravens to touchdowns on four consecutive drives, the last one to Rashod Bateman in the back of the end zone by holding his release in the air, a move Stephen Curry would have been proud of.
Still, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson felt powerless for one of the few times all Thursday night. So while he waited for the official’s review to determine if Baltimore had gotten a fourth down stop or if the Cincinnati Bengals would get another set of downs to try to tie (or win) another thriller between the two teams, Jackson put his arm around general manager Eric DeCosta’s shoulder on the sideline.
Then they waited together for the news. Bengals receiver Andrei Iosivas would have gotten the first down, and the pain would continue for a few minutes.
Jackson finally got a chance to enjoy a celebration that his second-half performance deserved when his counterpart, Joe Burrow, who was great all night, couldn’t connect with tight end Tanner Hudson on a go-ahead two-point conversion attempt with 38 Still seconds remaining. After the Ravens recovered an onside kick, Jackson needed just one kneel to put the pulsating 35-34 win at M&T Bank Stadium in the books and send an announced 71,439 fans to the exit feeling good about themselves.
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At one point in the third quarter, Baltimore’s offense was booed by the home crowd, which was struggling in a way it hadn’t in weeks. The end of the game celebrated another heroic performance from Jackson, who on Thursday dealt with all of his team’s problems, including a poor offensive start, another porous defensive performance and a missed fourth-quarter extra point by Justin Tucker, into mere footnotes .
“I said to my boys on the sideline: ‘We have to score. If they score, we have to score. That’s the kind of game it’s going to be,” Jackson said. “We saw that from the first picture, but I’m proud of my boys because we completed one of these tough kind of environmental games. We got through it.”
The Ravens are now 7-3. Thursday’s win over the Bengals (4-6) not only clinched a season-high win over their AFC North rivals and pushed Cincinnati into a precarious playoff position, but it also guarantees the Ravens will have a chance to move into first place to go when they next take the field. against the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 17.
But as the players left the locker room on an unseasonably warm November evening in Baltimore, they seemed to understand that the recipe for Thursday’s victory is unsustainable if they want to make a Super Bowl run. As brilliant as Jackson has been — and he’s playing at a ridiculously high level with over 275 yards in six straight games — he and the offense are going to need help.
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“No one has pointed a finger there, but we have to get better,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s just not the standard. That’s what the defensive guys said in the locker room, that’s not the norm. We have to be much better. We also need to take the pressure off our offense.”
The defense doesn’t have to dominate, but it does have to provide much more resistance than it did for most of Thursday night. Burrow threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns, and Ja’Marr Chase had 11 catches for 264 yards and three scores. The two looked like they were taking part in a seven-on-seven drill. The Ravens, who didn’t have to worry about Cincinnati’s other top receiver, Tee Higgins, couldn’t do anything to stop them.
Flying into the end zone on the strength of his 70-yard score that tied the game with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter, Chase waited before crossing the plane until a Ravens defender even came close to him . It was a fitting gesture, considering Baltimore’s defensive backs had failed to stay with him all night.
‘It would be different if we were confused. It’s simple: we just don’t play like we practice. It’s too deep into the season to keep doing this,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “We’re like little brothers at this point. (Jackson’s) carrying us, which is cool. But it isn’t. I want to be able to finish the game defensively.”
LAND TO LEAVE AGAIN OMG#CINvsBAL on PrimeVideo
Also streams through #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/LbKoTxaa1B—NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024
The Ravens almost did that, stopping the Bengals on the go-ahead two-point attempt and coming away with Travis Jones’ hit on Burrow’s helmet on the incompletion and Humphrey getting physical with tight end Mike Gesicki. But what preceded that was Burrow, aided by three Baltimore penalties, driving the Bengals 70 yards in less than 80 seconds and hitting Chase for a 5-yard score that put Cincinnati ahead.
And what preceded that was two touchdown drives in one play when Burrow hit Chase for one 67 meter score early in the third quarter and the 70-yard touchdown later in the fourth. In two games against the Ravens this year, Chase has 21 catches for 457 yards and five touchdowns.
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“It’s getting harder and harder to enjoy these wins depending on what we do in terms of pass defense,” Humphrey said, referring to the team’s 32nd ranking against the pass. “When I was a rookie, freshman, sophomore, I so looked up to the standard that was there. We really lost that standard in pass defense. I feel like that falls on me. We’ll keep chasing it. We keep working on it, because I’m not really satisfied with what I built in high school, where it’s gone.”
To Humphrey’s credit, he made the play that virtually every Raven said turned the game around. It was midway through the third quarter and the Ravens trailed 21-7. The offense had just run off the field to buoy as the punt team trotted on for the fifth time in the season. Baltimore needed to change the momentum. It was Humphrey who snatched the ball back from Chase Brown’s hands. Roquan Smith recovered it.
Five plays and one miraculous 10-yard Jackson run later, Derrick Henry was in the end zone and Cincinnati’s lead was cut to 21-14.
“That woke us up,” Jackson said of the Humphrey strip. “I feel like we slept the whole first half, even though we scored once. We were pretty much flat the whole game.”
Lamar. Action. Jackson. Wow.#CINvsBAL on PrimeVideo
Also streams through #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/EMGKsJaAVX—NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024
On the Ravens’ next drive, Jackson hit Tylan Wallace for one 84 meter scorethe rarely used receiver who shook free of a Cam Taylor-Britt tackle attempt and tiptoed down the sideline.
“I’m just grateful that I can take advantage of the opportunities that I get,” said Wallace, who had three catches for a team-high 115 yards. “Every time I go out there and I trust Lamar to throw the ball to me, I want to be able to put that trust in him so I know I can make plays with it.”
Another defensive stop, this one on fourth down, set the stage for Jackson’s 18-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to tight end Mark Andrews, who improvised on the route and quarterback hit him with a pass. Jackson ran in the two-point conversionto compensate for Tucker’s missed extra point after the Wallace score. And just like that, the Ravens had scored 21 straight points in less than a quarter.
Jackson wasn’t done yet. After the 70-yard Chase touchdown, which left several Ravens looking stunned after leaving the field, Jackson led his team on an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, throwing one to Bateman for the score.
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—NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024
“We have guys everywhere that can play and we continue to show that,” Bateman said. “Obviously Tylan was big for us tonight, and we’re going to continue to need that from everyone for the rest of the year. But it certainly felt good to see everyone contributing.”
Jackson finished 25 of 33 for 290 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Jackson now has 24 touchdown passes on the season, compared to two interceptions. He also ran the ball seven times for 33 yards.
The only thing Jackson didn’t do was get on the field and close out the game himself. To do that, he needed the defense’s help – and that’s becoming an increasingly difficult position for these Ravens. Jackson is having a career year and will be threatened if the defense doesn’t do its part.
The trade deadline has now passed. DeCosta acquired veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White, but he is more of a depth option than an expected starter. No one arrives to save the Ravens defense. It will have to figure it out for itself.
“I just don’t think we can get very far with a game like that,” Humphrey said.
(Photo: Terrance Williams / Associated Press)
