Bengals-Ravens: Lamar Jackson’s 4 TD passes power Baltimore as it rallies and stops late 2-point conversion try to win, 35-34

The Cincinnati Bengals weren’t going to give Lamar Jackson a shot to beat them in overtime.

After Ja’Marr Chase scored his third touchdown of the game with 38 seconds left during a monster night for him and Joe Burrow, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn’t hesitate to call for the 2-point conversion. Jackson was awesome on Thursday night, as he has been all season. The Bengals would take their chance on one play from the 2-yard line rather than whatever might happen in overtime.

It was probably the correct call, but it didn’t work out.

Burrow threw incomplete to Tanner Hudson on the 2-point attempt and the Ravens held on to a thrilling 35-34 win. That’s two tough losses for the Bengals against the Ravens this season, to go with a 41-38 overtime loss back in Week 5.

Burrow was great, Chase was unstoppable but the Bengals couldn’t close the door on a much-needed win in Baltimore. Burrow has been a slight step short of Jackson, who threw four touchdowns including a go-ahead score with less than two minutes remaining, and the Bengals haven’t been good enough to outlast the Ravens. That might cost them a playoff spot.

Burrow had 428 yards and three touchdowns, Chase had 264 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn’t enough. The Bengals are 4-6 this season after a tough loss in which they led by 14 points in the second half. They can’t blame that on Burrow or the offense. The Ravens have just been better.

They’ve done everything against the Ravens this season but win.

Big plays in the 2nd half

The first time the Bengals and Ravens met, they combined for 79 points in perhaps the NFL’s best game this season. Then there was a low-scoring first half on Thursday night. It turned out, the offenses needed just a little time to get warmed up. If the first Bengals-Ravens meeting wasn’t the game of the year this NFL season, perhaps Thursday night will take that honor.

The game was tied 7-7 late in the first half. After an interception was overturned because Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens didn’t stay in bounds, Burrow hit Tanner Hudson for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 30 seconds left before halftime.

Then the second half turned into a fantastic offensive show, just like the first meeting between the teams.

Chase made a huge play early in the third quarter with his acceleration. He caught a pass from Burrow, turned upfield and flew by the Ravens’ secondary. Baltimore seemed startled at his explosion. That 67-yard score gave the Bengals a 21-7 lead. It looked like Cincinnati was heading toward a huge win, but the Bengals made a big mistake to let the Ravens back in the game.

Chase Brown had the ball raked out of his hands and the Ravens recovered the fumble. Jackson made the type of play only he can make, as he kept retreating until he was beyond the 30-yard line, eventually got around the defense and ran the tightrope down the sideline all the way to the 1. That set up a Derrick Henry touchdown. Suddenly the Ravens were back in the game, down 21-14.

It was a heavyweight fight after that, with each offense landing massive punches.

Game tied late into the 4th

The Bengals defense let up and it cost them a long touchdown. On a short pass to Tylan Wallace, a fourth-year receiver who had never scored a touchdown from scrimmage in his career, the Bengals defense apparently thought he was out of bounds and let up just a bit. Wallace kept running and went all the way down the sideline for an 84-yard score. Justin Tucker surprisingly missed the extra point, but the Ravens had cut Cincinnati’s lead to 21-20.

Cincinnati had a weird sequence after that, with Burrow throwing deep on third-and-2 and again on fourth down, both times falling incomplete. Cincinnati must wish it had those two decisions back. The Bengals went from having the game under control to seemingly having no idea how to reel it back in. The Ravens went on a long drive after that and Mark Andrews caught an 18-yard touchdown on a third-and-9. The 2-point conversion gave Baltimore a 28-21 lead. The Bengals had the ball and a 14-point lead, and a little more than a quarter later they trailed with 5:50 to go.

Burrow knew what to do. He threw deep to Chase, who torched the Ravens secondary for a 70-yard touchdown. Chase had 238 yards at that point and the game was tied again.

But the Bengals needed a stop and that’s not easy against Jackson and the Ravens. For all of the big plays in the second half, the Ravens’ go-ahead drive was a series of short gains that moved the chains. On third-and-goal Jackson lofted a touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman for a 5-yard touchdown and a 35-28 lead with 1:49 to go.

Burrow had one more shot, albeit with no timeouts left. The Bengals converted a fourth-and-10, with Andrei Iosivas barely getting to the first down line. A facemask penalty gave the Bengals 15 more yards. Chase caught a long pass and the Ravens were called for roughing the passer on the play. That put the Bengals at the Ravens’ 12-yard line. The Bengals scored on Chase’s touchdown, and went for the 2-point conversion but didn’t get it. The broadcast showed there might have been two missed calls on the Ravens, a defensive holding and a possible roughing the passer penalty. Neither was called and the Ravens went on to win.

Cincinnati had a great shot to sweep the Ravens but couldn’t pull out either win. They might regret both losses over a long offseason.