Bengals Roll Over Ravens for Thanksgiving Win

The Bengals have plenty to be thankful for after crushing the Ravens on Thanksgiving night.

In the nine games Joe Burrow missed since suffering a turf toe injury back in Week 2, the Bengals have been one of the worst teams in the league.  The Bengals were 1 - 8 during that stretch, matching the Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders for futility in that span.  Even New York’s two franchises, the Jets and Giants, both known for their devotion to pitiful play over the years, reached levels of competence (aka, winning two games) that were far beyond anything the Bengals could bring to bear.

So, of course, with the Bengals season all but over and their playoff chances just about non-existent, they went on the road and thrashed the Baltimore Ravens like this was 2021 and the Bengals were about to go on a Super Bowl run.  The Bengals hadn’t beat the Ravens since 2022, and they hadn’t beat the Ravens with a healthy Lamar Jackson since Week 7 of 2021.  Even with Burrow back on the field, the Bengals were too dysfunctional, too undisciplined, and too incompetent to pose any sort of a threat to the mighty Ravens – at least, that was the logical thinking.  On Thanksgiving night, though, the Bengals – and their defense, specifically – feasted and made all the naysayers eat crow (or rather, Raven).

The Bengals 32 - 14 win over the Ravens last night was, by far, their most complete game of the season, and there’s really not a close second.  The Bengals beat the Browns in Week 1 thanks to a strong performance from the defense, but the offense failed to live up to its end of the bargain and the Bengals squeaked out a one-point win.  The following week, the Bengals defense came up short against the Jaguars, but the offense, even with Jake Browning at QB, picked up the slack and the Bengals escaped with a four-point win.  Even in Week 7, when the Bengals surprised the Pittsburgh Steelers 33 - 31, it was because the offense consistently made up for a defense that had absolutely no answers.  This week against the Ravens, though, was a completely different story.

Make no mistake: the Ravens had a hand in their own demise.  Four fumbles, plus an ugly red zone interception, are just about insurmountable for any team, even one with superstar talents like Jackson and Derrick Henry.  And even when they weren’t fumbling the ball away, the Ravens offense still didn’t look right against a Bengals defense that has made a strong case for being the worst defense in NFL history.  A typically listless Bengals pass rush was in Jackson’s face all night, and the usually dominant Ravens run game was (mostly) contained.

Where has this Bengals defense been all year?  This was a version of the defense nobody – especially not the Ravens – expected to see. Even without Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals defense created pressure.  Even without Cam Taylor-Britt, the Bengals were sticky in coverage.  Even with two rookie linebackers who have been two of the worst players in football all year long, the Bengals limited explosive plays.  It was the lowest point total the Bengals have allowed all season, and just the second time this year the Bengals have allowed fewer than 20.

The win certainly quiets the cacophony of voices calling for the end of the Zac Taylor era and for the Bengals to start over from scratch, but it’s not like this win significantly changes the Bengals outlook.  They still, more than likely, will need to win the rest of their games to sniff the playoffs, and that might still not be enough.  The hole they dug themselves during Burrow’s absence will be wildly difficult to overcome.  The Bengals might not be in the fire, so to speak, but they’re still in the frying pan.

It’s not like the Bengals covered themselves in glory for 60 minutes last night either.  On their third possession, following a horrific fumble by Jackson that set the Bengals up just two yards from the end zone, the Bengals proceeded to throw four consecutive passes, all of which fell incomplete.  They lined up in shotgun on each throw, and never even threatened to run the ball.  This felt particularly egregious because, as those who’ve been watching the Bengals the past ten weeks know, the Bengals have been a solid running team over that stretch.  Why the Bengals felt like their gameplan should be to throw it a trillion times with their injury-prone QB who just returned from his most recent injury defies all logic, reason and basic human understanding.

And yet, it still worked.  Burrow didn’t look quite like peak-Burrow, but he was pretty dang close.  He was uncharacteristically inaccurate on a couple throws, and he wasn’t on the same page as his receivers on a couple more, but by and large, Burrow was the guy the Bengals needed (and have sorely missed).  His connection with Ja’Marr Chase is still elite, and with Tee Higgins out with a concussion, Burrow was able to find guys like Mitchell Tinsley, Andrei Iosivas, and Tanner Hudson for big, game-changing plays.  The run game, especially in the second half, played its part in the win too.

It’s the defense, though, that deserves the lion’s share of the credit.  Jackson had made a custom of carving up the Bengals defense that had begun to rival Thanksgiving itself, but last night, the Bengals defense was in no mood for tradition.  The Ravens, obviously, didn’t help their cause with five turnovers, but the Bengals were Johnny-on-the-spot for each recovery.  Defensive end Joseph Ossai finished with two sacks, cornerback DJ Turner II continued his stellar play and all but erased Ravens receiver Zay Flowers from the game, and safety Jordan Battle had one of the plays of the night when he chased down Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely and punched the ball loose before he could cross the goal line, taking points off the board for the Ravens and giving the ball back to the Bengals offense.

The contributions didn’t stop there either.  Defensive end Myles Murphy continued his strong play of late, tipping a pass that led to a Demetrius Knight interception and hustling to chase down Henry to limit a long run.  Slot corner Jalen Davis forced a Flowers fumble that effectively ended the game.  Corner Dax Hill, who has been forced to play on the outside following the injury to Taylor-Britt despite spending the entire season in the slot, was attacked by the Ravens offense, but he (mostly) held his own and finished with two passes defended on the night.

So, while there was still plenty of room for improvement (like defending tight ends, taking better angles of pursuit, forgetting to run the football), this was a win the Bengals desperately needed.  The Bengals are now 3 - 0 in games in which Burrow starts, and if that trend continues, they might just win out the rest of the way.  That’s the bare minimum for staying in the playoff hunt, but at this point, Bengals fans will take it.  Life without Burrow was dark and depressing.  Having him back in the lineup guarantees nothing, but at the very least, there’s still a faint sliver of hope, and that's certainly something to be thankful for.