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Bengals 41 Ravens 21
Joe Burrow went nuts and the Bengals offense hit video game mode, scoring on their first seven possessions to dominate a Ravens team decimated by injuries, 41-21. Burrow tossed for a career-high 525 yards and four TD's as the offense piled up 333 yards in the first half and 575 for the game. Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham delivered the coffin nails with 8:02 remaining. At 9-6, the Bengals take over sole possession of 1st place in the AFC North and take a giant step towards clinching a playoff spot. They are 4-1 in the AFC North with sweeps of the Ravens and the Steelers (65-20).
Series: The Bengals produced back-to-back 41 point games, outscoring them 82-38. The Bengals become the first team to put up 40+ points twice in a season vs the Ravens.
Wink This! Burrow was 37 of 46 for 525 yards, 4 TD's, QB rating 143.2 vs Wink Martindale's D. He broke Boomer Esiason's franchise record for passing yards in a game. He had 299 yards at the half. Late in the game the Bengals threw on 15 straight plays, appearing to thumb their nose at the Ravens defense coordinator after comments earlier in the week. With 2-minutes remaining, Burrow scrambled out of pocket and threw a 52-yard pass to Mixon. He complete at least two passes to seven different teammates. He also had a nifty 3rd and 7 run for first down. He had a 5th TD pass (Boyd) taken away by replay review. Burrow vs Baltimore this year: 58 of 87, 941 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT. Per NFL: Burrow's 525 passing yards are the 4th most in a single game in NFL history. His 941 passing yards in two games vs Baltimore is the most vs one team in a single season in NFL history. He's the 1st player in NFL history w/ multiple 400+ yd passing games vs a single team in single season. After turnovers in 8 straight games (10 INT/2 fumbles), Burrow has not turned it over the last three games.
WR Trio: The Big 3 had 22 catches/404 yards and 3 TD. Tee Higgins had a career day with 12 catches, 194 yards, 2 TD, including a spectacular 52-yard high point catch over two defenders on 3rd and 16. He's gone over 100 yards in 4 of last 5 games: 34-583-4 TD. Ja'Marr Chase 7-125. Tyler Boyd 3-85-TD (68-yarder). Higgins joined Chase at 1,000+ yards. Per ESPN, the Bengals are the first team to have multiple WR's record 1,000 yard seasons before the age of 23. Chase (1,163) broke the AJ Green's franchise record for yards by a rookie.
Mixoning it Up: Joe Mixon has 135 yards of offense....18 rushes/65 yards, TD, 6 catches/6 targets, 70 yards, TD. He has 16 total TD's, tying Pete Johnson ('81) for 2nd in franchise history. Carl Pickens had 17 in 1995.
Comeback: The Bengals trailed 7-3 after the Ravens answered their opening FG drive with a TD. Baltimore had scored just 37 first quarter points on year. The Bengals outscored the Ravens 38-14 the rest of the way.
Love it: Burrow bootlegged to CJ Uzomah a couple of times. It's pretty play. CJ had 5 catches for 37 yards.
Opposing props: 3rd string journeyman QB Josh Johnson, recently signed off the Jets practice squad, went 28 of 40, 304 yards, 2 TD, INT and made some big throws. He led the Ravens on a 75-yard opening drive TD and later a 90-yard TD drive.
Defense: The defense wobbled at times against the passing attack. TE Mark Andrews had a big day, 8-125-TD on 10 targets. Vonn Bell picked off a pass, the lone turnover of the game. They limited the Ravens to 16 carries/39 yards (2.4) on the ground. Trey Hendrickson record his 14th sack, a franchise record since the sack became an official stat. That's at least a half a sack in 11 straight games. BJ Hill had a 4th down stop late in the game. Markus Bailey led the team with 8 tackles.
Magic number: It was the 5th time 41 points has been scored in a Bengals game this season: 3x by Bengals (Ravens, Ravens, Steelers), 2x by opponents (Browns/Chargers).
TOP: Bengals had the ball for 37:03 to 22:57 for the Ravens.
Little things: WR Stanley Morgan had a sweet block to spring Boyd for a first down.
Special Teams: Evan McPherson hit two fields, missed a 50-yard attempt and had a kickoff sail out of bounds.
Remember him? Chris Evans got some run. He was the target on a 3rd and goal incompletion on the opening drive and carried once for a yard.
Part-timer: Kevin Huber did not have a punt attempt.
3rd time the charm? The Bengals will go for their first three game winning streak of the season vs Kansas City. They have lost each of the last three times going for such a streak: Packers, Jets, Chargers.
Attendance: 63,922