The script flipped for the Ravens.
After squandering double-digit, fourth-quarter leads early this season, the Ravens found themselves down by 10 points late in Sunday’s game against the Bengals.
“I just looked at how much time we had left, and I was like, ‘We just have to go score.’ I always believe in our defense,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “I have to give my hats to the Bengals, though, because that’s an extremely talented offense over there, on all phases, and we have a talented defense.
“It was just one of those rival games, a division game, and we know anything can happen in those types of games; it’s not necessarily a blowout. I just told my guys, ‘We just have to put points on the board. We just have to keep scoring, as well.’”
An acrobatic play by Jackson where he picked up a fumbled snap, avoided a sack with two stiff-arms and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely while going out of bounds pulled them to within three points midway through the fourth quarter.
Justin Tucker, who has missed three field goals from over 50 yards this season, tied the game on a 56-yard kick after Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey gave the team life with an interception against Joe Burrow, who had terrorized the secondary for most of the game.
All seemed lost when Jackson fumbled a snap in overtime to give the Bengals a chance to win the game on a field goal. With the ball at the Ravens’ 38-yard line, the Bengals elected to run three times before calling on the usually reliable Evan McPherson. But holder Ryan Rehkow dropped the ball as he was placing it on the ground and McPherson was wide left from 53 yards.
Ravens running back Derrick Henry then rumbled for 51 yards, Tucker made a 23-yard kick and they escaped with a 41-38 victory that will go down as one of the most exciting in Ravens history.
“I had all the confidence in the world,” Jackson said. “I know who [Tucker] is. I wasn’t worried about what happened earlier in the season, because if you pay attention to the whole unit, it was all of us – we all had mistakes [we] made in the first few games and stuff like that, so it’s the NFL. Sometimes the ‘G.O.A.T.’ may miss, but he came back, and when we needed him, he conquered.”
The Ravens do have issues to correct. The secondary allowed Burrow to pick them apart. Burrow was 30-for-39 for 392 yards with five touchdowns and a costly interception.
The offensive line needs to do a better job protecting Jackson and opening lanes for Henry.
Jackson needs to be more accurate on his deep throws, although he picked apart a Bengals defense that dared him to beat him with his arm with 348 yards and four touchdowns.
What Jackson and his teammates demonstrated beyond the big plays and breakdowns is resilience. The defense kept taking Burrow’s best punch, and Jackson would throw a counter punch. Finally, the defense came up with a big play when Humphrey got inside position on receiver Ja’Marr Chase and made the interception that set up Tucker’s game-tying field goal.
There is talk the Ravens are the best team in the AFC despite their 3-2 record. The Ravens are beginning to show they are Super Bowl contenders because they are a team with multiple playmakers, led by Jackson and Henry.
“I think we’re in an OK spot right now, but we have to keep advancing as far as defensively,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said. “Like I said earlier, each and every person just has to look at themselves in the mirror and have to win your one-[of]-11 [matchup]. And that goes from the D-line, linebackers, as well as in the secondary. I feel like when we do that, and challenge ourselves, we can do that.
“Granted, there’s some really good receivers on that side of the ball, and some of the top receivers in this league, so they’re definitely going to make plays at the end of the day, but I like our DBs any given day and twice on Sundays. Those guys had a good game, but they lost, so it doesn’t really matter.”