Playoff Bound Bengals Defeat Ravens, 24-16
The Cincinnati Bengals were able to hold on for a series sweep of the Baltimore Ravens, 24-16 at Paul Brown Stadium. The win gave head coach Marvin Lewis his best record in his tenure as leader of the Bengals. They roll into the playoffs with a franchise tying 12-4 mark.
Under gloomy skies, Cincinnati went to work against Baltimore. With nothing to lose, the Ravens came out loose and ready on defense. The Bengals’ first two offensive possessions fizzled and looked like lackluster attempts to grab a first round bye in the playoffs. The running game still looked out of synch, and the Wildcat formation netted the most yards on the ground.
The Ravens second possession had a sense of urgency. They were able to convert a key third down and seemed to be putting a nice drive together. But multiple fouls on the offense stalled the drive at the Bengals’ 46-yard line. Baltimore kicker Sam Koch placed a beautiful 42-yard punt inside the ten and forced the Bengals to start from their 3-yard line.
Baltimore promptly took over, moved the ball with ease, and Ryan Mallet engineered a 38-yard drive to score three points. Justin Tucker put the Ravens on top with a 28-yard field goal.
The Bengals got a break when the Ravens were driving again. Ryan Mallet was under pressure from an all-out blitz and found his check-down receiver. The play stretched into a touchdown that had the Ravens up 9-0 without the extra point. After the play was reviewed, it was shown that the ball had been trapped by the receiver, and Baltimore had to settle for another field goal.
The Bengals finally found their rhythm on offense when they got the ball back. AJ McCarron seemed to feel comfortable in the pocket and was able to step into his passes. The pressure from the Ravens defense was there, but McCarron was given more time to look downfield. Baltimore helped the Bengals with a big defensive interference foul. McCarron had overthrown Marvin Jones, when strong safety Will Hill hit Jones before the ball arrived. The play bailed the Bengals out of a second-and-thirteen hole.
The Ravens remained calm, and Mallet led Baltimore on a 10-play, 55-yard drive to retake the lead. Justin Tucker again connected on a long field goal. The first half ended with the Ravens leading 9-7.
Ryan Mallet faced a fired-up Bengals defense on the opening drive and threw an interception to Vontaze Burfict. That was the motivation the Bengals offense needed. Taking over on the Baltimore 33-yard line, it took only five plays for the Bengals to find the end zone. AJ McCarron found A.J. Green for a five yard touchdown. Another topsy-turvy AFC North battle was shaping up. The Bengals took the lead 14-9.
Over the past few games, halftime adjustments had been the big issue with the Bengals’ brain trust. In the second half, the Bengals’ defense was able to make the necessary changes to stop the flow of Ryan Mallet and the Baltimore offense.
The Bengals got a scare when McCarron grabbed his left knee and was slow getting up in the third quarter after being tackled while throwing a pass. McCarron stayed in the game. According to stats from ESPN, he finished 17-of-27 for 160 yards with three sacks and a 103.9 passer rating.
In Week 16, AJ McCarron had trouble figuring out the zone defense that Denver used. In an effort to stop him, Baltimore copied the Broncos move. The Bengals’ offense was able to figure out the change in defense to score 17 more points and put up the final score of 24-16. The Cincinnati defense allowed a garbage-time touchdown in the final moments, but the Bengals held on for the win.
[Feature Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images]
