Ravens surge past Bengals, 34-20, in injury-plagued prime-time battle to strengthen AFC North lead
BALTIMORE — In a heavyweight fight between two of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks, one delivered a knockout blow while the other was knocked out.
Lamar Jackson completed 16 of 26 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Ravens to a 34-13 statement victory over their AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, meanwhile, suffered a wrist injury in the second quarter and never returned.
The victory keeps the Ravens (8-3) atop the division, while the Bengals (5-5) dropped 2 1/2 games back with seven to go after Baltimore’s season sweep.
It was also sweet revenge for the Ravens, with Cincinnati having ended Baltimore’s season last year during the wild-card round of the playoffs. Jackson was injured and did not play in that game.
This time it was Burrow who was mostly helpless, and now the Bengals’ season could hang in the balance with a steep hill to climb even if he doesn’t miss any time.
The NFL’s highest-paid quarterback and the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, Burrow connected with running back Joe Mixon on a 4-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter to cap an impressive 12-play, 82-yard scoring drive. That swung momentum to the Bengals and gave them a 10-7 lead, but it wouldn’t last, and neither would their quarterback.
Burrow injured his right wrist on the play, went to the locker room and was ruled out of the game at the start of the second half.
Jackson, meanwhile, had an injury scare of his own, after going down on the sideline in the second quarter as he scrambled away from pressure and got dragged to the turf. It was just a momentary one, however.
Eventually, Jackson settled in and found his groove, too, at least well enough.
With little threat of offense from the Bengals with Burrow out of the game, Baltimore didn’t need to do much.
On Baltimore’s next possession following Burrow’s injury, Jackson hit wide receiver Zay Flowers on a short pass and the rookie broke free down the left sideline for a 68-yard touchdown. Except receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was flagged for holding on the play and the ball came back to the Ravens’ 32.
It didn’t matter.
Five plays later on third-and-6 from the Bengals’ 37, Nelson Agholor snatched a short Jackson pass over the middle that was tipped and scampered all the way to the end zone. One possession later, Jackson connected with Rashod Bateman for a 10-yard score to give the Ravens a 21-10 lead at the half.
With Burrow out for the remainder of the game, the Bengals struggled to move the ball with Browning under center. Undrafted out of Washington in 2019, the 27-year-old veteran completed just 8 of 14 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in the final two minutes with the game out of reach.
And with Cincinnati struggling to move the ball through the air, the Ravens were able to key in on Mixon, who had a strong first half with 48 yards rushing and 29 yards receiving. He finished with 69 yards on 16 carries.
Beckham finished with four catches for 116 yards but left the game late In the fourth quarter with what looked to be a shoulder injury. Running back Gus Edwards led the Ravens with 62 yards rushing on 12 carries and two touchdowns — including one to cap Baltimore’s opening drive. Tight end Mark Andrews left the game before the score with an ankle injury and did not return.
The game was Jackson’s 20th with multiple touchdown passes and 50 yards rushing, tying Mike Vick and Randall Cunningham for the second-most such games in NFL history, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
