Bengals vs. Ravens: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens found themselves in a rare must-win situation in Week 3 as they hosted the Cincinnati Bengals.
Sitting at 0-2 and facing the AFC North-leading Bengals, Baltimore desperately needed a win in this game just to stay alive in the division race before September even ends. That was not evident early on given Baltimore's lack of urgency.
The defense allowed Cincinnati's offense to go right down the field on their first possession. It came in a similar manner as many scores have come against the Ravens, and that was by Baltimore's secondary being picked apart.
They allowed Andy Dalton to dissect them and get his offense down in the red zone before he ran it in for a seven-yard touchdown. That gave the Bengals a quick 7-0 lead, but Baltimore would attempt to respond on the ensuing drive by getting into Bengals territory.
However, the drive stalled and Justin Tucker missed a 50-yard field goal to leave the score at 7-0. After the defense forced a Bengals punt, Joe Flacco threw a bad interception to put the Bengals at the Ravens 30-yard line.
The Bengals would make them pay after Dalton hit Marvin Jones for a 16-yard score. That gave the Bengals a 14-0 lead with 12:18 left in the second quarter.
Baltimore would be unable to take it from them as they would fail to score in the first half. The one glimmer of hope it did have was stopping the Bengals on 4th-and-1 at the Ravens 2-yard line toward the end of the first half.
That kept the game at 14-0, and had it been any worse, Baltimore may have had no shot at coming back. The defense stood tall again to open the second half after Cincinnati drove down to the Ravens 10-yard line.
However, Jimmy Smith would pick off Dalton's 3rd-and-10 pass in the end zone for a touchback and give Baltimore the ball back still down 14-0. They would finally get on the board after Flacco hit Steve Smith Sr. on 4th-and-5 at midfield for a 50-yard score.
It was a gutsy call for John Harbaugh to go for it there, but he could see his team needed a spark to get back in this game. Smith Sr. gave it to them as he made two Bengals miss on his way to the end zone to cut the lead to 14-7.
Baltimore's defense would force a three-and-out on the ensuing possession before the Ravens were back on the move again on offense. With the ground game getting close to nothing at this point, Flacco continued to carry the offense by hitting big pass after big pass.
This drive would feature a 3rd-and-21 strike to Marlon Brown for 21 yards to get the first down. The Ravens would get all the way down to the Bengals 2-yard line, but would be forced to settle for a 21-yard field goal.
Tucker converted it, and the Ravens were suddenly only down 14-10 with 13:27 left in the fourth quarter. Both teams would trade punts before Baltimore finally broke through and took the lead.
That came with 6:49 left as Ravens pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil sacked and stripped Dalton of the ball. C.J. Mosley would recover it and take it to the house for a 41-yard score.
Baltimore took a 17-14 lead that would be short-lived as Dalton hit A.J. Green for an 80-yard score to give Cincinnati a 21-17 lead. Baltimore had fought so hard to get back in the game, and it wouldn't stop now.
Flacco led the offense right back down the field before hitting Smith Sr. for a 16-yard score to give Baltimore the lead back with 4:03 left in the game. Smith Sr. was simply willing the Ravens in this one, but sadly, he did not play defense.
The Ravens would once again give up the lead as Dalton drove Cincinnati right back down the field before hitting Green again for a seven-yard score with 2:10 left. As bad as Baltimore had played defensively to this point, it at least had the ball with a chance to drive down for the game-winning score.
However, Cincinnati's defense would rise up as they forced a turnover on downs after Flacco's 4th-and-17 pass to Maxx Williams fell incomplete, Williams got his hands on the ball, but it was a very difficult catch to make and he simply couldn't pull it in.
The Bengals would run out the clock and seal a 28-24 win as Baltimore fell to 0-3 after giving away another late lead. All three of the Ravens' losses have come down to the fourth quarter, and they could easily be 2-1 or even 3-0 had they made one more play in all three games.
That's what makes the NFL so great to watch, but unfortunately for Baltimore, it has been on the wrong end of those thrillers and is now without a win as September ends.
Position Grades for Ravens
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | B+ |
| RB | C- |
| WR | B+ |
| TE | B- |
| OL | B- |
| DL | A- |
| LB | A |
| DB | F |
| Special Teams | B+ |
| Coaching | C+ |
Joe Flacco tends to struggle against the Bengals, with 18 career interceptions against Cincinnati compared to 13 touchdown passes. He had an up-and-down performance in this one, but his play was what kept Baltimore in the game.
Flacco hit several big passes and kept the Ravens afloat after falling behind double digits. He got plenty of help from his receivers, most notably Steve Smith Sr.
It was Smith Sr. whose intensity in this one sparked the Ravens offense in the second half. He finished the game with 186 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 13 catches.
Ravens running backs had a poor showing in this game and did close to nothing for the offense. Justin Forsett and the other backs were bottled up throughout the game and had little room to maneuver.
That's because the offensive line had another subpar run-blocking performance as they struggled to open up lanes for the backs. The line's struggles are going to keep leading to bad play by the running backs, as well.
Against Cincinnati, Forsett rushed for a mere 13 yards on 10 carries. As a team, Baltimore rushed for 36 yards on 18 carries in a forgettable performance.
Baltimore's much-maligned secondary needed to play great in this game for the Ravens to win. They were the reason Baltimore lost to Oakland in Week 2, and they once again cost them a win.
Cornerback Jimmy Smith grabbed a crucial interception in the end zone to prevent a Bengals score with them already leading 14-0. However, Smith and the rest of the secondary really struggled down the stretch as the Bengals rallied for the win.
The front seven were the biggest reason why Baltimore was even in this game. They limited the Bengals ground game to minimal gains throughout while also getting good pressure on Dalton and forcing him into a lot of bad decisions.
The Ravens committed a ridiculous 13 penalties for 116 yards in this game. It's close to impossible to win with that many mistakes, and the coaches can't seem to find a way to help the players correct these errors.
Important Note No. 1: Offensive Line Plays Great in Pass Protection
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If Baltimore was to beat Cincinnati, the offensive line was going to have to play much better than it did in the first two weeks.
That was especially true of offensive tackle James Hurst. He started at left tackle again with Eugene Monroe missing his second straight game due to a concussion.
Hurst and the rest of the offensive line went against a Bengals defense that had six games through two games. However, they rarely even touched Joe Flacco in this one as the line held up very well in pass protection.
The line finished the game having given up just one QB hit and no sacks. While the loss stings, the offensive line deserves praise for how well it played against a strong Bengals pass rush.
The line playing well is also going to be crucial going forward if the Ravens are to climb out of this 0-3 hole.
Important Note No. 2: Secondary Is Still Really Bad
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The Ravens secondary now has to be considered one of, if not the worst in the NFL.
They simply cannot defend anyone when the game is on the line, and they once again gave away late fourth-quarter leads in this shootout with Cincinnati. Just after Baltimore took its first lead of the game with 6:49 left, the defense gave up the lead after a busted assignment and several broken tackles led to an 80-yard score from Dalton to A.J. Green.
Baltimore would retake the lead after Flacco hit Smith Sr. for a 16-yard score with 3:56 left. But the Ravens defense would give up the lead again as they allowed several big pass plays to put Cincinnati in the red zone.
Then Dalton hit Green for a seven-yard score to give the Bengals the lead back for good with 2:10 left as they beat the Ravens 28-24. This secondary has given away two straight wins now, and this unit must improve if Baltimore is even going to have a .500 record this season.
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Important Note No. 3: Elvis Dumervil Finally Makes Impact
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Over the course of his nine-year NFL career, Elvis Dumervil has been one of the NFL's best pass-rushers.
Unfortunately, the 31-yard-old came into Week 3 without a sack after getting blanked at Denver and at Oakland. Dumervil had 90 sacks through his first eight seasons, including a franchise-record 17 in 2014.
It took until the fourth quarter of this game, but Dumervil finally broke through for a game-changing play.
That came with 6:49 left as Dumervil sacked and stripped Dalton of the ball before Mosley recovered it and ran it back for a 41-yard score. That was quite a way for Dumervil to get his first sack, but it was a great play that should have led to a Ravens win.
Dumervil would finish with two tackles and that lone sack, but that one play was all it took for him to make a game-changing play. He'll need to make a lot more of them going forward if Baltimore is to rally from its 0-3 start to this season.
Jimmy Smith Too Emotional to Talk After Loss
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The Ravens secondary was obliterated in the fourth quarter of this game as it blew a pair of leads and let the Bengals escape with a 28-24 lead.
While many of the defensive backs were at fault for this loss, cornerback Jimmy Smith was torched for several big plays. Most of them came while guarding Bengals star receiver A.J. Green, who had a career-high 227 receiving yards to go with 10 catches and two touchdowns.
Smith did have a key interception in the third quarter while defending Green to prevent a Bengals scoring attempt, but he blew several coverages and was simply outplayed by Green on several others.
Smith was very distraught with how the game unfolded. As Smith told Brian Bower of Russell Street Report, he was in no mood to talk after his defense blew another fourth-quarter lead.
"I'm too emotional to speak to you guys (media) right now," Smith said. "I'll speak to you during the week."
Smith is a very good corner, so he simply needs to move past this and realize there's still a lot of football ahead of him, both this season and in the long term.
He's shown a lot of promise through his first four NFL seasons. Now in his fifth season, he needs to keep his head up and do his best to help Baltimore climb out of this 0-3 hole.
Steve Smith Sr. Hates Losing
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Steve Smith Sr. almost willed the Ravens to a season-changing win over the Bengals as he looked like he was back in his prime.
That's pretty amazing for a 36-year-old player, but he simply dominated the Bengals in this game. He finished with a game-high 13 receptions with 186 yards and two scores.
Both of his touchdowns gave Baltimore leads in the fourth quarter, but the defense capitulated both of them.
As Smith Sr. said during the postgame press conference (via the team's official Twitter), he really hates losing.
""Losing isn't frustrating...Losing pisses me off," Smith Sr. said. "We go out here and people pay to see you play, perform and win, and we didn't do that."
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Smith Sr. may have a lot left to offer as a receiver, but now is when his leadership is going to be the most valuable trait he can give a Ravens team in need of it, now sitting at 0-3.
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