Ravens are 4-1 for the first time since the 2012 title year.
Sunday, October 11, 2020, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD. A mismatch of a game like this needs a ‘hook’ to attract fans who wouldn’t otherwise watch. The hook came in the form of the Ravens’ biggest fish, quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson missed two of the three principal practice days last week–one with a knee injury, the other with stomach flu–and it was the first time in Jackson’s nascent professional career that he had missed two consecutive practices.
News of Jackson’s possible absence threw local fans into an apprehensive fit–not to mention causing upheaval among those with wagering and/or who had already made Fantasy Football commitments.
But with Jackson returning to practice Friday–and without a knee brace and moving rather well–he re-assumed his usual place in command of the Ravens’ offense. Predictably, the result was an easy Baltimore win, 27-3, over the outclassed Bengals. With the win, the Ravens raised their record to 4-1. And the last time the team started a season with such a record was its 2012 Super Bowl 47 championship year.
Now the goal is to raise that record to 5-1 when Baltimore travels roughly 90 miles northeast to face the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, October 11, 1 p.m.). That game immediately precedes the Ravens’ rescheduled bye week, which was moved up seven days due to the virus-caused rescheduling of the Pittsburgh-Tennessee game, and the schedule rearrangements that soon follow.
But on this Sunday, the Ravens focused on Cincinnati–a team that Baltimore has found to be surprisingly difficult on occasion. Not this time, though. Jackson threw two touchdown passes and gained 180 yards through the air as the team ran the ball only 24 times and passed it 38 times. It was an imbalance to which Baltimore fans are unaccustomed. Even an electrifying runner, like Jackson, managed only one carry for minus-4 yards–a performance that ended his streak of games with at least 40 yards rushing at 18.
“I still need to be out there to get chemistry with my guys,” Jackson said. “This week is going to be totally different because I’m going to be out there every day this week.”
But fans know that the Ravens have also been winning with their defense, and the ‘D’ showed in a big way on Sunday. The Bengals got a Randy Bullock field goal with just 32 seconds left to get themselves on the board.
And about 250 players’ family members in attendance got to see #1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow go against the home team. Only two rookie quarterbacks have won in Baltimore since the Ravens were born (Arizona’s Jake Plummer in 1997, and Chicago’s Mitch Trubisky in 2017). Burrow wouldn’t be the third. He was constantly harassed by a revived Ravens pass rush that got to him seven times. He was also hit 15 times.
The Ravens’ secondary did most of the damage with cornerbacks Jimmy Smith, Marcus Peters, and Marlon Humphrey getting one each sake and safeties DeShon Elliott and Chuck Clark also getting sacks. Linebackers Patrick Queen and Pernell McPhee also reached Burrow in the pocket. McPhee recorded four quarterback hits, and Clark added two. Coming into the game, Baltimore had 32 quarterback hits, third-most in the league behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The Bengals managed only 12 first downs, had to punt seven times, and committed three turnovers. Standout running back Joe Mixon gained 59 yards on 24 carries without a run going longer than seven yards. What a difference that was from last week when Mixon gained 151 against Jacksonville last week, winning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Overall, the Ravens capitalized on nearly every opportunity to put points on the board and easily distanced themselves from their visitors.
For example, in one second-quarter sequence, a Raven blitz forced Burrow to overthrow standout receiver AJ Green, and Peters came down with the interception. Jackson then found tight end Mark Andrews with some key passes on the ensuing drive and hit Marquise Brown as the second quarter began for a two-yard touchdown and a 17-0 lead.
Later in the game, Humphrey used his patented punch move to force receiver, Mike Thomas, to fumble and Queen–who was Burrow’s former teammate at LSU–picked up the ball and ran 52 yards for the Ravens’ final points. Since the start of last season, it was the Ravens’ eighth defensive touchdown, tying New England for the most over that span.
Humphrey is building quite a resume as a defensive playmaker. Since the start of last season, he has four interceptions, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and two touchdowns. “I knew Marlon was great, (but) I didn’t know he was this great,” Queen said. “I can’t wait to see what he does next.” Jackson agreed: “(Humphrey) should be up for (Defensive Player of the Year).”
Two remarkable scoring streaks continued in this game. The Ravens notched points in every quarter, making it 20 straight since the season began. And the team did not allow a third-quarter point–the only team all season that can make that claim.
With Tyre Phillips missing due to injury, the offensive line got reshuffled with former backup center Patrick Mekari starting in Phillips’s right guard slot. However, he and Ben Powers rotated, each taking two straight series before giving the other.
Another highlight was provided by Justin Tucker, who converted his 66th straight field goal attempt under 40 yards. However, Tucker missed for the first time this year (yanking a 61-yard try wide right).
At the end of the day, the Bengals found themselves falling to 0-15-1 on the road over the last two years. Except for today, Cincinnati is an otherwise competitive team, having lost two games by a total of eight points, plus a tie.
You might say they were dead in the water against a team that has big, fast engines.
