The Ravens' thrilling 41-38 overtime win in Cincinnati came with a whole lot of good offensive film and not as much on defense.
Lamar Jackson and Baltimore's offense, which now ranks No. 1 in the league in yards per game (447.6) and No. 2 in scoring (29.4), proved it could win when it has to air it out.
On the filp side, Baltimore's defense continued to struggle against the pass.
Here's a closer look at how the Ravens beat the Bengals in Week 5:
Lamar Jackson carved up Bengals' blitz, including Cover-0.
Much of the Ravens' focus this offseason with Jackson has been on making pre-snap adjustments to deliver better results. On a day when Baltimore had to throw against an attacking defense, Jackson showed how much growth he's made in that facet of his game.
One of the strategies for defending Jackson and the Ravens' dangerous offense over the years is to blitz the snot out of them.
It has worked at times, including in last year's AFC Championship game when the Chiefs blitzed the Ravens at a rate of 43.5%. There are flashbacks to opponents having success with Cover-0 blitzes, such as the ones the Miami Dolphins assaulted Jackson and the Ravens with back in 2021.
Through the first four weeks of this season, however, opponents hadn't loaded up with extra pressure, blitzing just 23.5% of the time. That changed Sunday, as the Bengals blitzed at a rate of 42.6%. That included eight Cover-0 blitzes (17% of their defensive snaps).
Jackson was 14-of-20 for 183 yards and two touchdowns against the blitz, good for a 131.9 passer rating. Against Cover-0 specifically, he was 5-of-8 for 50 yards and two touchdowns, per Next Gen Stats.
Some of the Bengals' blitz alignments didn't end up bringing extra heat, as they dropped defenders out into coverage. Either way, Jackson did a good job diagnosing it and making the Bengals pay.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said he was "really proud" of the way Jackson handled it, getting the Ravens into the right plays and protections, and making the throws, including some under duress.
"They attacked us how we expected them to," Harbaugh said. "They've used those same defenses in the past against us to great effect. They're an aggressive team, Lou [Anarumo] is a heck of a defensive coordinator, and they're in a come-and-get you type of a mindset, and that's what they went to, and we handled it for the most part."
The Ravens faced three 10-point deficits in the second half in Cincinnati. That, plus the Bengals' heavy blitz, created a high-pressure situation. Jackson rose to the occasion.
Joe Burrow, Bengals receivers won their battles vs. Ravens secondary.
The Ravens put a lid on Joe Burrow in their previous four meetings. That wasn't the case Sunday, as he threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns.
Burrow had a completion percentage over expected of +12.2%, per Next Gen Stats. He was 5-for-6 for 134 yards and a touchdown on passes that traveled at least 15 air yards. Burrow also handled the Ravens' pressure, completing seven of his nine pass attempts under pressure for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Part of Sunday's issues for the Ravens is that Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase were just playing at an exceptionally high level. Burrow said before the game that he had to be near perfect and he almost was.
"I think they had an A-plus game, in terms of their execution," Harbaugh said. "[Burrow] had pressure in his face numerous times. The pocket was getting pushed, guys were coming at him; he stood in there and made some really great throws, like on-the-money throws off his back foot.
"He had receivers that were tightly covered – I call them tightly-contested catches. We had numerous tight coverages where they made the catches. In that case, that kind of throw under pressure, that kind of a catch – that's football. You have to understand that."
However, Harbaugh also said there were probably five or six plays the Ravens needed to play better.
Baltimore had a clear misplay on Burrow's 41-yard touchdown just before halftime, in which Chase got free behind Eddie Jackson and Marlon Humphrey. Jackson cut off the shallower post and Humphrey also hesitated covering that, which opened up a hole for Chase's deeper post. The Ravens also didn't tackle well on Chase's 70-yard touchdown on a wide receiver bubble screen.
Ravens receivers made tight catches.
The Ravens' pass catchers had a quiet couple of weeks stat-wise, with Baltimore's ground-and-pound approach in Dallas and against the Bills. But forced to rally in the second half, their number was called against the Bengals.
Jackson has targeted tight windows on a league-low 6.5% of attempts this season, also the lowest of his career, per Next Gen Stats.
But Jackson made five tight-window throws in the fourth quarter alone in Cincinnati and his receivers made four grabs. The average amount of separation on those four grabs was 0.75 yards.
It started with a Mark Andrews 27-yard grab when Jackson floated the perfect pass over his shoulder despite a rusher bearing down on him in the end zone. Jackson then completed a 13-yard pass to Zay Flowers, 2-yard touchdown to Charlie Kolar, and a 12-yard pass to Flowers in tight windows. Those three throws had a combined 30% chance of being completed, per Next Gen Stats, and were all difference-makers.
They weren't tight-window catches, but No. 4 wide receiver Tylan Wallace also made two key fourth quarter grabs of 12 and 19 yards for his first receptions of this season.
Harbaugh alluded to the difficulty of being a wide receiver when your team is running the ball a lot, saying "you're in your head and all that," but he was happy to see the receivers step up.
"They want to make plays. They got their chance this game, and they made them, in the fourth quarter [and] all throughout the game," Harbaugh said. "But in the fourth quarter, these catches that were made by these guys and these throws that were made by Lamar were just at the highest possible level, and every one of them was required for us to have a chance to win the game."
Ronnie Stanley has returned to form.
Stanley missed both games against the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson last season due to nagging injuries. Hendrickson, meanwhile, had a career-best season with 17.5 sacks.
Facing his toughest test yet this season, Stanley stood tall against Hendrickson. The Bengals pass rusher had just seven pressures on 28 opportunities and zero sacks. His PFF pass rush grade of 54.2 was his second lowest since the start of last season.
It's been a long road back for Stanley since his 2020 ankle injury, but he has returned to top form.
The Ravens also are getting solid play from rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten, who may have now established himself as a full-time starter.
It appears Rosengarten was at fault on the Bengals' safety as defensive end Sam Hubbard went unblocked. However, the rookie was credited with allowing just four hurries on 44 reps in pass protection.
Ravens' defensive leaders made critical plays in critical situations.
The Ravens defense had a tough day but rose up in two critical end-of-game situations to close out the game. Cincinnati's offense ended with an interception, punt, and missed field goal.
Though he had some rough patches, Humphrey adjusted on a fourth-quarter slant by Chase to cut it off for his second interception of the season.
"Marlon is a great player. We made plays, they made plays. That's a credit to him," Burrow said. "He's a smart, savvy player who knows what we're trying to do in that situation. He played it perfect."
After Justin Tucker's game-tying kick, Cincinnati still had plenty of time (1:35) and three timeouts to mount a drive for a walk-off win. Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike wrecked those plans
It was a hot day in Cincinnati, but Madubuike was still explosive late in the fourth quarter and overtime. He burst across the formation and, thanks to a pick from outside linebacker David Ojabo, hit a crease in the Bengals' offensive line before pouncing on Burrow. That sack put them in a second-and-17 and likely altered their play-calling.
Then, with the Bengals in field-goal range in overtime following Jackson's fumble, Madubuike stuffed a third-down run by bullying left tackle and former Raven Orlando Brown Jr. into the backfield. The Ravens' run stops on that drive forced a longer 53-yard field-goal attempt that was missed.
Extra Points
- The Ravens perfectly executed Derrick Henry's 87-yard touchdown run on their first play against the Bills last week. On Baltimore's final offensive play in Cincinnati, it didn't go the way they drew it up, but still had great results. The lane for Henry's 51-yard overtime game-sealing run happened because fullback Patrick Ricard and Wallace switched blocking assignments mid-play when Hendrickson jumped outside Wallace's initial block.
