Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

After back-to-back division losses at home, the Ravens bounced back in a big way to get back up to .500 and keep their playoff hopes alive. A dominant 24-0 win left little to be desired.

The Good

Shutout: In their own house, with their playoff lives on the line, the Bengals came out and delivered a big goose egg on the scoreboard. It’s the first time Joe Burrow has been shut out in his NFL career. It’s Baltimore’s first shutout performance since 2018, and it was an impressive performance. Three sacks, two interceptions, and they held the Bengals to under 5.0 yards per pass and 4.0 yards per rush, all while spending almost two-thirds of the game on the field. It might be the best game of Zach Orr’s career as a defensive coordinator, and it came in a huge game against an elite quarterback.

Lamar Jackson: Lamar Jackson looked like himself in this one. After a rough first quarter, the Ravens went on three consecutive scoring drives and only punted once for the rest of the game. With a strong run game, Jackson only threw 12 passes, but he completed eight of them for 150 yards (12.5 yards/attempt) and two touchdowns. His only turnover was an interception off the hands of Zay Flowers, who also dropped a tough but catchable touchdown as well. Jackson also scrambled twice for 26 yards and looked good doing so. He made what might have been his best throw of the season to hit Flowers for a touchdown right before half, dropping it between defenders, right in the bread basket down the sideline. It was a low workload but very efficient day for Jackson, the formula for the Ravens to keep winning in 2025.

The entire backfield

• Derrick Henry: Henry’s 11 carries seem like a low number, but on a day when the Ravens only ran 41 offensive plays, it was more than 25% of the offense’s plays. Even better, only needed those 11 carries to get yet another 100-yard rushing day on his resume. At one point, Henry rattled off back-to-back 20-plus yard carries to put the Bengals on their heels. The big man is still capable of rumbling despite the slow offensive year for the whole team. The Ravens can continue to lean on him.
• Keaton Mitchell: of the new three-headed monster in the Ravens’ backfield, Mitchell had a quieter day but still 8.3 yards a carry on just eight attempts. With the offense’s struggles the last couple of weeks, they continue to lean more and more on Mitchell’s unique explosive ability, who looks fresh and fine after a quick injury scare last game.
• Rasheen Ali: The last part of the backfield, Ali’s workload has gotten bigger and bigger each week since Hill’s injury. He cemented his spot in the rotation on Sunday with a massive 30-yard catch and run up the sideline, where he showed impressive burst and speed to reach pay dirt. He didn’t receive...