A two-yard plunge for what would have been the lead turned into a 98-yard fumble return touchdown for the Bengals.
-A game-turning 98-yard fumble return touchdown proved to be the turning point in a game full of them, but the host and third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals edged the sixth-seeded Ravens, 24-17, in a Wild Card Weekend game at Paycor Stadium. Baltimore nearly pulled off another road postseason miracle, but an end-zone desperation pass in the final seconds avoided James Proche’s diving attempt to catch it…
-The Ravens are now 8-3 on Wild Card Weekend, including a 6-1 road record on that weekend. Including the Divisional (second) in seasons where the Ravens had a first-round bye, the team is now 9-5 in its first playoff game of a given season. In total, Baltimore is 16-12 lifetime in the postseason…
-Next week, the top four AFC seeds will meet in the Divisional round, with No. 4 Jacksonville, as the lowest surviving seed, traveling to top seed Kansas City. Then, the third-seeded Bengals will travel to No. 2 Buffalo. The games will take place Saturday and Sunday, with times, dates, and TV networks to be announced…
-The Ravens’ rather dormant offense couldn’t be expected to break out with a prolific effort because it is the first team in NFL history to score 17 or fewer points in each of its last regular-season games and yet still make the playoffs. Yet, after Tyler Huntley’s career-long 41-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson in the third quarter, the Ravens had reached 17 points and tied the game…
-Going into the game, head coach John Harbaugh’s eight road playoff wins were the most by any NFL head coach in league history. Ironically, Harbaugh spent eight seasons on the coaching staff at the University of Cincinnati (special teams coordinator) and is a Perrysburg, Ohio, native…
-This game marked the first time the Ravens and Bengals met in postseason play and the first time Baltimore took on a first-round playoff opponent it met the previous week in the regular-season finale; it was the 17th time that has happened in NFL history, but the first time involving the Ravens. The team that had won the regular-season finale was a mere 8-8 in the following week’s playoff rematch going into this game…
-The Baltimore Colts was the opponent the first time Cincinnati ever made the playoffs. In 1970, the Bengals’ third season of existence, they played at Memorial Stadium in a Divisional round game, which was the first round. The Colts won, 17-0, on their way to Super Bowl 5, where they beat Dallas at the Orange Bowl in Miami, 16-13…
-The Ravens were without quarterback Lamar Jackson (knee), and illnesses kept reserve corner Brandon Stephens and backup center Trystan Colon from making the trip to the Queen City. Other noteworthy inactives included running back Kenyan Drake and rookie draftee Charlie Kolar, the tight end who saw considerable playing time in the regular-season finale at Cincinnati while starter Mark Andrews rested. In addition, Cornerback Marcus Peters returned after missing three games (calf)…
-For Cincinnati, the only notable inactive was right guard Alex Cappa, an unrestricted free agent pickup last offseason. The Bengals fielded the same offensive line combination for the first 15 games this year, but right tackle Lael Collins, a free-agent pickup from Dallas, has missed most of the season; his absence and that of Cappa have severely weakened the Bengals’ right-siders. In addition, during the game, left tackle Jonah Williams, a former first-round pick, left the game with a left knee injury…
-During the game, Ravens All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith left briefly in the third quarter before returning. Still, durable right tackle Morgan Moses went down early in the fourth period and lay on the ground for several minutes with what appeared to be a lower back injury. Patrick Mekari filled in for Moses, who would quickly return. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey was another short-term absentee in the fourth with an ankle problem; Daryl Worley, who played 56 snaps in the Week 18 game in Cincinnati, filled in…
-The Bengals employed a bit of psychological warfare with their traditional “Ruler Of The Jungle” honor, the equivalent of Baltimore’s “Legend Of The Game.” The honoree Sunday night was longtime Bengal receiver (and one-year Raven) T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who memorably caught a game-winning touchdown pass for the Ravens in Pittsburgh during his only season wearing purple…
-Due to the result of this game, the Ravens will be drafted anywhere from the 19th to the 24th position in the first round of the late-April selection meeting in Kansas City. The Ravens’ slot will be officially finalized after the Dallas-Tampa Bay Wild Card Weekend game on Monday night…
-The Ravens turned to their most successful postseason uniform combination, wearing white uniform tops with black pants. Baltimore is now 7-6 in playoff games while wearing that combo; it was the uniform of choice during the team’s Super Bowl 47 run ten years ago…
-The turnover battle, a big key in any game, was won by Cincinnati at plus-1. In playoff games, the Ravens are now 0-9 when losing the turnover ratio but a gaudy 13-1 when they win it. Safety Kyle Hamilton’s forced fumble and recovery late in the first half set up Justin Tucker’s go-ahead 22-yard field goal to give Baltimore a 10-9 halftime lead…
-Relatively few possessions and long drives highlighted this game; the Ravens had the ball nine times and the Bengals eight. Last week, with a skeleton crew at best in play for the Ravens, the Bengals averaged only 2.8 yards per rush and 5.2 yards per pass attempt, and those numbers were nearly duplicated Sunday night…
-With the Ravens’ second-place finish, the NFL schedule rotation will provide the Ravens with the following list of 2023 opponents:
HOME: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle, Miami (placement game), Detroit (placement game)
AWAY: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Arizona, San Francisco, Los Angeles Chargers (placement game)…
-The usual perception is that preseason results have no bearing on the regular season. Yet, the Ravens have won every preseason game since the start of 2016 (an NFL-record run of 23 straight); in that span, the Ravens have been to the playoffs four times, narrowly missing twice…
-Six Ravens have started every game this year, three on each side of the ball (Tyler Linderbaum, Ben Powers, Morgan Moses, Chuck Clark, Marlon Humphrey, Patrick Queen). Last year, only four Ravens could say that: Queen, Tyus Bowser, Kevin Zeitler, and Alejandro Villanueva…
-Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins, whose career single-game high was 160 yards in Cincinnati two years ago, has had a stop-and-start career so far due to injuries, but he had never had more than 17 carries in any game since his career began. Sunday in Cincinnati, Dobbins was held to 62 yards on 13 carries. Tyler Huntley gained 54 yards on nine attempts…
-The Ravens have scored first 12 times in 18 games this year, winning eight of those games. On Sunday in Cincinnati, the Bengals drew first blood for the tenth time this year on a 39-yard field goal with just over eight minutes left in the first quarter. Cincinnati led after one quarter, 3-0, running 22 of the game’s 27 total plays over the first 15 minutes. The Ravens would rally in the second quarter, thanks partly to a franchise-postseason-record-tying 17-play touchdown drive; the teams had run 30 plays each at the half…
-After last week’s game against Cincinnati was the Ravens’ longest of the year at three hours and 22 minutes, beating the home-opening loss to Miami by two minutes, Sunday’s first quarter blew by in a lightning-fast 27 minutes. The game was completed in three hours and two minutes…
-The Ravens came into this game with 13 straight games of two or more sacks, the league’s longest current streak. Sunday against Cincinnati, the streak continued as the Ravens got two in the first quarter alone, three in the first half, and four for the game…
-Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (17-for-29, 226 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, two sacks, 92 rating) ripped off a career-long 35-yard run in the fourth quarter that helped set up a possible go-ahead touchdown. But it was Cincinnati that scored it, as two plays later, linebacker Logan Wilson knocked the ball loose from Huntley, prompting Sam Hubbard to recover the ball and run it the other way 98 yards to give the Bengals a 24-17 lead. Hubbard’s play was the longest postseason fumble-return score in league history…
-The Ravens will now begin preparations for their 28th season in team history in 2023.
Fans can start their prep work by clipping and saving the annual Joey P Ravens Offseason Guide, which will be posted within the next 48 hours. It will include the entire NFL offseason calendar, the Ravens’ list of ’23 opponents, the free-agent list, and the complete ranking of the league’s 2023 strength-of-schedule numbers, among other annual features…
