CINCINNATI (AP) — Even with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase at their dazzling best, the Cincinnati Bengals couldn’t quite do enough to get a win at Baltimore.
The hard-luck Bengals faced the Ravens on Thursday night with a chance to even their record at 5-5 with a critical victory over an AFC North foe that had beaten them in overtime back on Oct. 6.
Instead, the Bengals lost another wild one to the Ravens, 35-34, dropped to 4-6 and are still trying to figure out how to close out games against the league’s better teams. All four of Cincinnati’s wins this season came against opponents with sub-.500 records.
Burrow keeps saying the Bengals can be a playoff team, but that’s looking less and less likely as they keep letting the close games slip away.
Burrow and Chase, the duo that led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season, put up some eye-popping numbers, but the Bengals defense just couldn’t harness Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
Burrow and Chase connected on a 5-yard TD pass to make it a one-point game with 38 seconds left. The Bengals went for 2 points and the win, but Burrow missed tight end Tanner Hudson in the end zone. Officials didn’t call what looked on the replay like defensive holding and a defender grabbing Burrow’s facemask.
“Everybody knows that we were in the game, and we had a chance to close it out,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “We just didn’t, and it came back to bite us. Yeah, one of those tough losses.”
What’s working
Burrow says he’s playing as well as he ever has and that’s hard to argue. He was battered by the Ravens pass rush, took at least 13 hits and was sacked three times but still made a lot of good throws, many of them improvised. He finished 34 for 56 for a season high 428 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Chase. The fifth-year quarterback has thrown nine touchdown passes in the past two games, a five-day span.
What needs help
Cincinnati’s defense held running back Derrick Henry to 68 yards, but the unit just couldn’t slow down Jackson, who ran away from the pass rush and consistently found wide-open receivers. Jackson was 25 for 33 for 290 yards and four TDs and added 33 rushing yards. The Bengals gave up four-straight touchdown drives to end the game. … The offensive line wasn’t good. Without injured left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., the group rarely gave Burrow a clean pocket.
Stock up
After not being a major factor in the Bengals’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Chase was spectacular against the Ravens, making 11 catches for a season-high 264 yards and three touchdowns.
“I would never in a million years expect me to play this well and (Burrow) to play this well and still have a record like this,” Chase said.
Stock down
There were some curious decisions made by the coaching staff. The Bengals were up 21-20 early in the fourth quarter and had the ball at the Baltimore 34-yard line with two yards to get the first down. Burrow attempted a deep pass on third down and then another on fourth down. Both fell incomplete, and the Ravens took over on downs. Then coach Zac Taylor decided to go for the 2-point conversion and the win after the final touchdown instead of tying it with an extra-point kick and likely going to overtime.
“We came here to win,” Taylor said by way of explanation.
Injuries
WR Tee Higgins (quad) missed his third game.
Key number
912 — Yards of offense by the Bengals in the two games against the Ravens, both one-point losses.
Next steps
Thanks to the Thursday night game, the Bengals get a few extra days to prepare for the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) on Nov. 17. They’ll get a bye week after that before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 1.
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