Lamar Jackson’s 4 TDs just enough as Ravens hold off Bengals
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson completed 25 of 33 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns while rallying the Baltimore Ravens from a 14-point second-half deficit to a 35-34 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in a wild Thursday night contest.
Jackson led four consecutive touchdown drives in the second half to help the Ravens (7-3) win for the seventh time in eight games.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went 34-for-56 for 428 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those scoring passes went to Ja’Marr Chase, who finished with 11 catches for 264 yards. Chase’s final catch nearly gave the Bengals a stunning victory.
After Jackson hit Rashod Bateman with a 5-yard scoring pass to give Baltimore a 35-28 lead with 1:49 to play, Burrow drove the Bengals 70 yards in 71 seconds, connecting with Chase for a 5-yard score with 38 seconds left in regulation to make it 35-34.
Following a timeout after the touchdown, the Bengals decided to go for two points and the win. However, Burrow’s throw to Tanner Hudson was just out of reach at the goal line. Burrow was struck in the facemask by a Ravens defender on the play, but no penalty was called.
Cincinnati (4-6) then attempted an onside kick, but Ravens tight end Mark Andrews recovered the kick to seal the Baltimore victory.
Chase’s other two scores were quite a bit longer — 67 and 70 yards — as he finished 2 yards shy of his own club record for receiving yards in a game, set in January 2022.
After Chase’s 67-yard score made it 21-7 in favor of the Bengals in the third quarter, Cincinnati forced a punt and appeared poised to perhaps put the game out of reach. But Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey forced a fumble by Bengals running back Chase Brown and linebacker Roquan Smith recovered at the Cincinnati 31 with 7:05 left in the third.
With the ball at the Bengals 11 on the subsequent drive, Jackson raced over to the right side in the backfield for several seconds before taking off down the sideline, ultimately getting to the 1-yard line. Derrick Henry ran it in for the touchdown on the ensuing play, the first of three straight touchdown drives that would give the Ravens a 28-21 lead with 5:50 to play.
On Baltimore’s first drive following the Henry score, Jackson completed a pass on the near sideline to Tylan Wallace. Three Bengals missed tackles, including linebacker Logan Wilson, who shoved Wallace down the sideline on his way for an 84-yard touchdown. A missed extra point left Baltimore trailing 21-20 with 13:30 to go in the fourth quarter.
After a second straight Cincinnati punt, Jackson found Andrews for an 18-yard touchdown, and Jackson’s two-point rush put Baltimore up 28-21 with 5:50 to go.
Burrow hit Chase in stride for a 70-yard touchdown down the middle of the field on Cincinnati’s next play from scrimmage to tie the game 28-28.
The Ravens sustained a key defensive loss late in the second quarter when safety Kyle Hamilton turned his right ankle on a non-contact play and did not return. However, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said postgame that the injury was not considered serious.
