Lamar Jackson’s heroics lift Ravens over Bengals, but the defense has to start doing its part

BALTIMORE — He led the Baltimore Ravens to touchdowns on four consecutive drives, punctuating the final one to Rashod Bateman in the back of the end zone by holding his release in the air, a move that would have made Stephen Curry proud.

Yet, for one of the few times all Thursday night, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson felt powerless. So as he waited for the official’s review to determine whether Baltimore had gotten a fourth-down stop or the Cincinnati Bengals would have another set of downs to try and tie — or win — another thriller between the two teams, Jackson threw his arm around the shoulder of general manager Eric DeCosta on the sideline.

They then waited for the news together. Bengals receiver Andrei Iosivas was ruled to have gotten the first down, and the agony would continue for a few more minutes.

Jackson finally did get a chance to enjoy a celebration that his second-half performance deserved when his counterpart, Joe Burrow, who was terrific all night, couldn’t connect with tight end Tanner Hudson on a go-ahead two-point conversion attempt with 38 seconds remaining. After the Ravens recovered an onside kick, Jackson needed only one kneeldown to put the pulsating 35-34 victory at M&T Bank Stadium in the books and send an announced 71,439 fans to the exits feeling good about themselves.

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During one point of the third quarter, the home crowd booed Baltimore’s offense, which struggled in a way it hadn’t in weeks. By game’s end, it celebrated another heroic performance by Jackson, who made all of his team’s issues Thursday, including a poor start offensively, another porous defensive performance and a missed fourth-quarter extra point by Justin Tucker, into mere footnotes.

“I was telling my guys on the sideline, ‘We have to score. If they score, we have to score. That’s the type of game it’s going to be,’” Jackson said. “We’ve seen that from the first snap, but I’m proud of my guys because we finished one of these tough type of environment games. We came through.”

The Ravens are now 7-3. Thursday’s victory over the Bengals (4-6) not only secured a season sweep of their AFC North rivals and pushed Cincinnati into precarious playoff positioning, but it guarantees that the Ravens will have a chance to move into first place when they next take the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 17.

Yet, as the players exited the locker room into an unseasonably warm Baltimore November night, they seemed to understand that the recipe for Thursday’s victory is unsustainable if they’re going to make a Super Bowl run. As brilliant as Jackson has been — and he’s playing at a ridiculously high level with 275-plus yards passing for six straight games — he and the offense will need help.

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“Nobody pointed any fingers out there, but we have to get better,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. “That’s just not the standard. That’s what the defensive guys were saying in the locker room, that that’s not the standard. We have to be much better. We have to take pressure off our offense, too.”

The defense doesn’t need to dominate, but it has to offer far more resistance than it did for much of Thursday night. Burrow threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns, and Ja’Marr Chase had 11 catches for 264 yards and three scores. The two looked like they were taking part in a seven-on-seven drill. The Ravens, who didn’t have to worry about Cincinnati’s other top receiver, Tee Higgins, could do nothing to stop them.

As he coasted toward the end zone on his 70-yard score that tied the game with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter, Chase waited before crossing the plane for a Ravens defender to even come near him. It was a fitting gesture given Baltimore’s defensive backs had failed to stay with him all night.

“It’d be different if we were confused. It’s simple: We’re just not playing how we’re practicing. It’s too deep into the season to keep doing this,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “We’re like the little brothers right now. (Jackson’s) carrying us, which is cool. But it’s not. I want to be able to end the game on defense.”

BURROW TO CHASE AGAIN OMG#CINvsBAL on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/LbKoTxaa1B

— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024

The Ravens all but did, stopping the Bengals on the go-ahead two-point try and getting away with Travis Jones’ blow to Burrow’s helmet on the incompletion and Humphrey getting physical with tight end Mike Gesicki. Still, what preceded that was Burrow, aided by three Baltimore penalties, driving the Bengals 70 yards in less than 80 seconds and hitting Chase for a 5-yard score that set Cincinnati up for the go-ahead try.

And what preceded that was two one-play touchdown drives as Burrow hit Chase for a 67-yard score early in the third quarter and the 70-yard touchdown later in the fourth. In two games against the Ravens this year, Chase has 21 catches for 457 yards and five touchdowns.

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“These wins are getting harder to enjoy based off what we’re doing in the pass defense,” Humphrey said, alluding to the team’s 32nd ranking against the pass. “When I was a rookie, first-year guy, second-year guy, that’s how I looked up to the standard that was there. In the pass defense, we’ve really lost that standard. I feel like that falls on me. We’re going to keep chasing at it. We’re going to keep working at it, because I’m not really satisfied with what I’ve built in the secondary, where it’s gone.”

To Humphrey’s credit, he made the play that pretty much every Raven said turned the game around. It was midway through the third quarter and the Ravens trailed 21-7. The offense had just walked off the field to boos as the punt team trotted on for its season-high fifth time. Baltimore needed to change the momentum. It was Humphrey who ripped the ball out of running back Chase Brown’s hands. Roquan Smith recovered it.

Five plays and one miraculous Jackson 10-yard run later, Derrick Henry was in the end zone and Cincinnati’s lead was cut to 21-14.

“That kind of woke us up,” Jackson said of the Humphrey strip. “I feel like we were asleep that whole first half — even though we scored once. We were pretty much flat throughout the game.”

Lamar. Action. Jackson. Wow.#CINvsBAL on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/EMGKsJaAVX

— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024

On the Ravens’ next drive, Jackson hit Tylan Wallace for an 84-yard score, the seldom-used receiver shaking free from a Cam Taylor-Britt tackle attempt and tip-toeing down the sideline.

“I’m just grateful to take advantage of the opportunities that I get,” said Wallace, who had three catches for a team-high 115 yards. “Whenever I get out there and Lamar trusts to throw the ball to me, I just want to be able to put that trust in him to know that I can make plays with it.”

Another defensive stop, this one on fourth down, set the stage for Jackson’s 18-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to tight end Mark Andrews, who improvised on the route and the quarterback hit him in stride. Jackson ran in the two-point conversion, making up for the Tucker missed extra point after the Wallace score. And just like that, the Ravens had scored 21 straight points in less than a quarter.

Jackson wasn’t done. Following the 70-yard Chase touchdown, which left several Ravens looking bewildered after they left the field, Jackson led his team on an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, lobbing one to Bateman for the score.

“Watch this little @StephenCurry30 jump, and look at the follow through.” – @KirkHerbstreit pic.twitter.com/yJcG0UWbGX

— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024

“We’ve got guys all over the place that can make plays and we continue to show that,” Bateman said. “Obviously, Tylan came up big for us tonight, and we’re going to continue to need that for the rest of the year from everybody. But, definitely felt good to see everybody contribute.”

Jackson finished 25-of-33 for 290 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Jackson now has 24 touchdown passes on the season compared to two interceptions. He also ran the ball seven times for 33 yards.

About the only thing Jackson didn’t do was go out on the field and close the game himself. For that, he needed the defense’s help — and that’s becoming an increasingly dicey position for these Ravens. Jackson is having a career year, and it will be threatened if the defense doesn’t start doing its part.

The trade deadline has now come and gone. DeCosta acquired veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White, but he’s more a depth option than an expected starter. Nobody is arriving to save the Ravens’ defense. It’s going to have to figure it out on its own.

“I just don’t think playing like this, we can go very far,” Humphrey said.

(Photo: Terrance Williams / Associated Press)