That was brutal.
It was an unseasonably warm Sunday in Southwest Ohio when the Cincinnati Bengals hosted the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season. This was the first division matchup for both teams, and both were looking to overcome a slow start to the season.
In what turned into an absolute thriller, the Bengals lost a heartbreaker in overtime, 41-38.
If you weren’t able to watch, or if you can’t remember what happened, here’s a synopsis of the game.
First Quarter
The Baltimore Ravens have scored a touchdown on every opening drive this season, and their game in Cincinnati was no exception. Lamar Jackson had all the time in the world to throw, and the Ravens used Derrick Henry to plow into the end zone for six to start the game, the 100th of his illustrious career.
The Bengals offense took the field and, even with the help of a defensive neutral zone infraction penalty, went three-and-out, failing to pick up a yard on third-and-one. Rookie punter Ryan Rehkow punted the ball away and set the Ravens up for their next offensive drive.
The Bengals' defense had the Ravens in a third-and-five situation. Jackson found Zay Flowers for a long reception, but thanks to a Sam Hubbard sack and a nice pass breakup from Cam Taylor-Britt, the Ravens were forced to punt the ball back to Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense.
With 3:29 left in the first quarter, Burrow began his drive at the 14-yard line. After a short pass to Ja’Marr Chase to start the drive, the Bengals marched down the field with a nice mix of explosive run plays from Chase Brown and some downfield passing, including a 19-yard reception from Mike Gesicki. The quarter ended as the Bengals were driving down the field.
Second Quarter
The second quarter of the Bengals’ Week 5 game started the right way, with a touchdown. They scored from the 11-yard line on a slant to Tee Higgins, tying the game at seven after the Evan McPherson extra point.
The defense, now short Dax Hill, who left the game with a knee injury, was able to force a three-and-out, even getting a decent amount of pressure on Jackson, forcing an errant throw while running for his life.
The Bengals offense took possession with a chance to take the lead. They returned the favor, though, as Burrow was sacked on third down, and Ryan Rehkow punted the ball right back to the Ravens, who were set up near midfield.
The Ravens offense leaned on Henry and the run game heavily in the ensuing drive, but once they got into the red zone, Jackson found Rashod Bateman as he was rolling to his right for a 16-yard touchdown. The Ravens took a 14-7 lead with just over eight minutes left in the first half.
Burrow and the Bengals went three-and-out after the franchise quarterback took an ugly sack on third-and-one with open receivers down the field. Rehkow nailed a 66-yard punt to pin the Ravens on their own two-yard line, though.
On the first play of the Ravens' next drive, Sam Hubbard, who has struggled early in the season, brought Henry down in the end zone for the team’s first safety since the 2019 season. Thanks to the incredible defensive play, the Bengals narrowed the Ravens’ lead to five points.
The Bengals offense wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum shift and eventually punted the ball back to the Ravens, who took over at their own 14-yard line with 3:23 left in the half. The Ravens weren’t able to do much with the ball, though, and gave the Bengals the ball back with 34 seconds in the half.
The Bengals were able to move down the field on Burrow's arm. With less than a minute left in the half and all three timeouts in their back pocket, Burrow found Chase on a 41-yard touchdown bomb. After a two-point conversion, scored by Brown, the Bengals took a 17-14 lead.
After the Ravens took a knee, the two teams went to their respective locker rooms.
Third Quarter
The Bengals started the second half with the ball. While driving down the field, rookie right tackle Amarius Mims injured his leg and had to be carted off the field. Already down their starting right tackle, Trent Brown, losing Mims put Cody Ford in the right tackle spot.
Ford and the offensive line gave Burrow enough time to sit in the pocket and wait for Andrei Iosivas to get open for a 39-yard strike, going out of bounds at the two-yard line. A couple plays and a bogus false start penalty later, Burrow found Higgins in the end zone for the second time on the day.
The Ravens responded with a big play of their own. On the following drive, Jackson hit Charlie Kolar on a seam for 55 yards. Two plays later, Jackson found Isaiah Likely in the end zone after a play-action fake. After the extra point, the Bengals’ lead was cut to three, 24-21.
The two offenses were dialed in. Burrow and the Bengals got the ball right back, and they went on a methodical drive down the field, picking up multiple first downs on big third-down passes to Chase and Gesicki. After a nice run up the middle by Zack Moss and an illegal hands to the face penalty on the Ravens, the Bengals walked off the field at the end of the third quarter with a three-point lead and the ball inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line.
Fourth Quarter
The Bengals scored on the second play of the fourth quarter. Burrow found Brown open in the end zone, and the two connected. It was Burrow’s fourth touchdown of the game and Brown’s third touchdown in the last two weeks. After the extra point, the Bengals took a 31-21 lead.
The Ravens drove down the field quickly. Jackson found some open receivers and ran for a few first downs as well. Down by 10 in the fourth quarter, they weren’t forced to exclusively throw the ball, their offense moved with a sense of urgency. Jackson used his tight ends to move down the field and eventually found Kolar in the end zone. After the extra point, the Bengals' lead was back to three, 31-28.
With just over nine minutes left in the game, Burrow and the Bengals took possession, but they needed one play to score. Burrow found Chase on a bubble screen, and the wide receiver squeezed between two defenders and took the ball 70 yards for the touchdown. This was Burrow’s fifth touchdown pass on the day (a personal record), and gave the Bengals a 38-28 lead with 8:54 left.
The Ravens, once again, responded. Jackson and the Ravens drove down the field quickly. After a roughing the passer penalty called on Trey Hendrickson, the Ravens were set up on first-and-goal. Jackson fumbled a snap, picked it up, fought off a sack from Hubbard, and then found Likely in the end zone. After the extra point, the score was 38-35.
The Bengals, led by Burrow, drove down the field on their next drive. After a few first-down passes to Chase and Higgins, the Ravens started to take their timeouts in an attempt to give Jackson some time to make something happen. That’s when the Ravens forced the game’s first turnover. Marlon Humphrey was able to step in front of a pass intended for Chase.
The Ravens then took over with three minutes left, down by three points, and the chance to go down the field and win the game. The Bengals defense wasn’t able to get to Jackson, who got the Ravens inside Justin Fields’ insane range by the time the whistle was blown for the two-minute warning. The Bengals were able to hold the Ravens for a field goal, though. Tucker was good from 56 yards, tying the game at 38 with 1:35 left in the game.
Burrow was sacked on the first play of the drive, and Higgins failed to haul in a second-down pass that would have set up the Bengals with a third-and-medium play. They decided to run a draw with Brown on third down, allowing the clock to wind down and let Rehkow punt the ball away with nine seconds left.
The Bengals and Ravens were going to overtime!
Overtime
The Ravens won the toss and elected to receive. With the new rules, the only way to end a game in overtime after the opening drive is to score a touchdown on the opening drive.
The Ravens were able to march down the field, thanks to some tough running from Henry and a scramble and pass from Jackson, but then the two-time NFL MVP took his eyes off the snap and fumbled the ball. After it was kicked around, it ended in the hands of Germaine Pratt.
The Bengals took over on the right side of the 50-yard line in a situation where an Evan McPherson field goal would win the game.
The football gods weren’t having a win in the jungle on Sunday, though. Rehkow, acting as the holder, dropped the snap as he went to place the ball. McPherson’s kick went wide left.
The Ravens took over near midfield, and on the first play of the drive, Henry finally got a huge carry, ripping down the field for 53 yards and setting Tucker up to kick the game-winning field goal.
The Bengals lost by a score of 41-38.
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In the end, the Bengals offense did enough to win, but it’s going to be hard to win when you give up 41 points.
The Bengals are now 1-4, and while they’re not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, getting to the postseason at this point will be a tall order.
