The Baltimore Ravens move to 8-3 on the season and give themselves some more breathing room atop the AFC North with their 34-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night to open up Week 11. While there was plenty of hype rolling into this divisional matchup, a couple of key injuries deflated the first half of action.
First, Ravens tight end Mark Andrews suffered an ankle injury on Baltimore's opening drive of the game and was quickly ruled out. after the game, John Harbaugh indicated Andrews is likely done for the season. Later, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went down with what Zac Taylor called a right wrist sprain. The Cincinnati star was in noticeable pain after completing a short touchdown throw to Joe Mixon midway through the second quarter. He was initially looked at in the blue medical tent and then couldn't grip the football on a couple of sideline practice throws. It was at that point that Burrow departed to the locker room early before halftime and was later ruled out.
Naturally, that sent this game on a different trajectory. Jake Browning came in to relieve Burrow and the former undrafted free agent wasn't able to lead Cincinnati on consistent scoring drives. After Burrow exited, the Ravens sandwiched two touchdown drives in between a Bengals punt before halftime to go into the break up 11. That proved to be plenty of room to keep the Browning-led Bengals at arm's length. Burrow was 11 of 17 for 101 yards and a touchdown before departing, while Browning finished with 68 yards and a late touchdown pass to Ja'Marr Chase.
As for Baltimore, Lamar Jackson -- who also seemed hobbled at times in this game with an apparent ankle issue -- finished with 16 of 26 passing for 264 yards and two touchdowns. His go-to receiver was Odell Beckham Jr., who had four catches for 116 yards (most in a game since 2021). However, in fitting fashion for how this game unfolded, Beckham also suffered a shoulder injury in this winning effort in the fourth quarter, which required X-rays and forced him to miss the final minutes of regulation.
For more on this game, check out our takeaways below.
Why the Ravens won
Of course, the road to victory got a bit easier for the Ravens once Burrow went down, which was obviously a factor. That said, Baltimore was dealt a difficult blow on the opening drive when it lost Andrews due to an ankle injury. Lamar Jackson did a strong job pivoting after losing his go-to pass catcher and was able to connect with eight other Ravens on the night through the air. Baltimore also ran the ball effectively, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, and Gus Edwards continues to be one of the better goal-line backs in the league, punching in two scores. As for the defense, the Ravens did a superb job covering Ja'Marr Chase even when Burrow was under center. The star wideout was limited to just two catches on the night and his final reception (a goal-line touchdown) was in garbage time. Again, it was a rather easy eighth win down the stretch due to Burrow's injury, but the Ravens continue to show traits of being a legit contender (though the loss of Andrews -- along with Odell Beckham Jr., who hurt his shoulder late -- will be extremely tough to overcome.)
Why the Bengals lost
We'll note Burrow's injury a bit more below, but the Bengals' inability to score with Jake Browning at quarterback was their demise. His first drive lasted just five plays and traveled 22 yards before punting away to the Ravens, who'd answer that with their second straight touchdown drive before the half. In the second half, Cincinnati scored an opening-drive field goal, but then proceeded to go three-and-out on the following three drives. That inability to put points with Browning allowed Baltimore to go on cruise control for the final two quarters.
Turning point
Joe Burrow's injury turned the game on its head. When he was on the field, Cincinnati had just taken a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter after Burrow led an 82-yard touchdown drive that culminated with him completing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Joe Mixon. Instead of what could've been a momentum-shifting drive in favor of the Bengals, that was the last we saw of Burrow and effectively erased whatever chance there was of Cincinnati escaping Baltimore with a win.
Once Burrow left, the Ravens scored 14 unanswered points going into halftime, which left the Browning-led Bengals in the dust.
Play of the game
Beckham turned back the clock a bit in this game, logging four receptions for 116 yards in the win. That includes this long reception from Lamar Jackson in the fourth quarter. This was the first game that Beckham -- who signed a one-year deal with the Ravens this offseason -- logged at least 100 yards receiving since the 2021 NFC Championship. It was his first regular-season game with 100 receiving yards since 2019 and the most he's posted since Week 2 against the Jets in 2019.
Beckham did leave this game with a shoulder injury, so his status is worth monitoring. If he's healthy, he could end up being the No. 1 target in this Baltimore offense with Andrews shelved for the year.
What's next
From here, the Bengals will have yet another AFC North matchup as they will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12. Meanwhile, the Ravens will be in prime time again next week for a "Sunday Night Football" showdown against the Chargers in Los Angeles.