Instant analysis after Bengals defeat Ravens and advance to the playoffs
The Cincinnati Bengals The Wild Card Round of the playoffs against Baltimore Ravens was won 24-17.
The Bengals were down 10-9 at halftime, and they suffered some serious injuries. They entered the fourth period tied at 17-17 after Sam Hubbard’s historic defensive touchdown.
Here’s a look at some quick notes and stats to know from the game.
Quick Hits
— Burrow started the opening drive 5-of-5 then ended 0-of-3, going 14 plays and more than six minutes of game clock before an Evan McPherson field goal. It was a good run that established the run. However, it was obvious that Burrow may need to move more out of the pocket.
— Akeem Davis-Gaither cut off a pass intended for Mark Andrews and intercepted it on Baltimore’s first drive. Tyler Huntley didn’t see him.
— The Akeem Davis-Gaither interception.
— Ja’Marr Chase torched Marcus Peters down the field after the interception, catching five passes and capping it off with a seven-yard touchdown.
— Another red flag for special teams: Evan McPherson missed the extra point, making it 9-0 instead of 10-0.
— Bengals defense gave up a 17-play touchdown drive, 12 of those on the ground. That’s a big red flag on its own, as it’s the exact game the Ravens wanted to play and what could let them pull off an upset.
— Yet another red flag — left tackle Jonah Williams suffered a knee injury Jackson Carman was thus in the game.
— Starting cornerback Eli Apple also suffered an injury.
— Big four-point swing by the Bengals defense by preventing a touchdown at the end of the half. This meant that we were down 10-9, rather than much worse.
— Out of the halftime tunnel, Bengals offense looped in some new things like pistol formations and play-action to go the length of the field for a touchdown, a short Burrow rush. Tee Higgins was then tackled by Burrow for the two point conversion.
— Of major note? Carman was solid at left tackle, his natural position in college. This is something to keep an eye on.
— Eli Apple got cooked on a deep Ravens touchdown, biting on what he thought would be a short throw. That tied the game at 17 — the most points the Ravens have scored in game since losing Lamar Jackson in early December.
— One of the wildest plays onlookers will ever see: Sam Hubbard scored a 98-yard touchdown in a stunning game-changing play.
— Three straight punts for the Bengals offense while having a chance to close the game out. It was not surprising considering the Ravens defense, which had to adjust due to injuries. The defense was crucial for the offense to win the second half.
Key Stat
364-234: This one was won by the Ravens offense, which outperformed that of the Bengals. The offense struggled to win, with the defense giving up large chunks of play and the offensive struggling with injuries in the second.
Game Balls
QB Joe Burrow Who else? There were three backup linemen, but Burrow did his best, finishing 23 of 32 with 209 yards.
WR Ja’Marr Chase: It would appear there isn’t a flaw to Chase’s game and he put that on full display Sunday night, doing a little bit of everything on the way to nine catches for 84 yards with the touchdown.
DE Sam Hubbard Hubbard is often credited with stopping the run and kicking the ball away. However, Hubbard was the one who knew how to grab it and ran nearly 100 yards without requiring oxygen.
Top Takeaway
Ugly: This was always going be an AFC North match. The Bengals were unable to defend the ball in a way that allowed the Ravens to play their game and win. Injuries didn’t help. The Bengals need to seriously fix some things in just a week’s time before going to face the Bills on the road in the divisional round.
Liste
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