The Ravens faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals and rookie Joe Burrow as they looked to improve to 4-1 after a win against Washington last week. Baltimore was successful, ending the game 27-3.
Baltimore jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with a 46-yard field goal in the first quarter after stopping the Bengals’ offense. The Ravens defense showed its prowess again when they stopped an attempted fourth down conversion at their own 37. Lamar Jackson and the offense seized that opportunity and scored on a 5-yard pass to tight end Mark Andrews to highlight a 62-yard drive. Cornerback Marcus Peters came up with another interception late in the first for his second of the year when he picked off Burrow at the CIN 43.
The Ravens offense again looked unstoppable while scoring another touchdown by Jackson with a pass to wide receiver Marquise Brown to make it a 17-0 lead. The Bengals seemed helpless, not finding the end zone for the entire game and hoped to score before the half. However, it took a turn for the worst for Cincinnati when linebacker Patrick Queen sacked and forced a fumble from Burrow. The offense could not capitalize on the turnover, and they turned it over on downs in just four plays. Despite the lead, Baltimore still looked to gain but failed after an interception by Jackson and a missed field goal from Justin Tucker before the clock ticked to 0:00 to mark the end of the half. Despite their mistakes, the Ravens went into the second half with a sizable lead and command on both the offensive and defensive sides.
The second half proved to be more of the same as the Ravens dominated on both sides of the ball. The third quarter contained a series of punts and a 39-yard field goal from Tucker to take a 20-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, things got worse for Cincinnati when wide receiver Mike Thomas fumbled after a hit from cornerback Marlon Humphrey on a pass from Burrow. Queen managed to pick up the ball and ran it back for a 53-yard touchdown. The Bengals struggled throughout the second half and only managed a field goal in the last seconds of the game. Baltimore closed the game by running out the clock and finishing with a 27-3 victory over the Bengals for a 4-1 record in its first five games.
Jackson finished with 180 yards passing along with two touchdowns and an interception. Running back Mark Ingram led the team in rushing with 57 yards on 11 carries. Brown led all receivers with 77 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive end, Queen led the team in sacks, recovered two fumbles, and scored on one.
Baltimore places itself among the top teams in the AFC, but is second in the AFC North due to a Steelers win over the Eagles. The Ravens look to continue their strong start with a win against the Eagles next Sunday.
Featured Image courtesy of Pat Gavin via Flickr Creative Commons
