Ravens vs. Bengals final: 5 Winners and 8 Losers

Ouch

A five-game winning streak was snapped in the worst way; the Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) went into M&T Bank Stadium and left with a 41-17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens (5-2). The Baltimore Ravens enter the bye week in second place in the AFC North and will need the full two weeks to recuperate.

Winners

• Marquise “Hollywood” Brown — Another cool 80 yards and a highlight-reel touchdown grab by the star receiver. This is his sixth touchdown reception this season, as Hollywood has dominated in just about every game this year.

• Justin Tucker — Hit from 45 and went 100% on the day. Take the victories where we can.
• Sam Koch — Two punts inside the 20-yard line of his six. Not bad from the vet.
• Anthony Averett — Bad game from the defense (we’ll get to it) but Averett was tested on nearly every passing down in the first half. He responded with multiple passes defensed and really showed out.
• Rashod Bateman — A good performance by the rookie as he gets his reps in. It’s unfortunate he’s being overshadowed by the rookie opposite of him in this game.

Losers*

*This title is indicating they had a poor game. It happens. No NFL player or team is perfect and to not mention the struggles would be biased.

• Don ‘Wink’ Martindale — Sent the blitz and though it nearly got home, it never quite did. Instead, Burrow carved up the Ravens akin to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes last season. Think there will be less blitzing in the rematch.
• Marlon Humphrey — Yes, he intercepted a Burrow pass to the endzone in crunch-time, but the repeated defeats against star rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase nullify that. Just a bad game from the star.
• DeShon Elliott — When those big hits don’t land, they look baaaaad on film.
• Chuck Clark — Sound tackling is typically Clark’s forte. It wasn’t so today.
• Lamar Jackson — Not the worst day for the quarterback, as he threw for 257 yards and a touchdown, but he suffered five sacks and went less that 50% on his passes today. Bengals made him uncomfortable and executed well.
• Ty’Son Williams — Get up the field. It’s 4th & 15 and Williams’ had a lane to get the first down. He instead, watched Jackson shift around, planted his feet and went out of bounds early on a 4th down catch…
• Team defense — Three times this season, they’ve surrendered 400-yards passing.

Health — At this point, it’s becoming ever-so-difficult to overcome injuries. Though this game was not decided by the injuries, it’s hard to overcome constant injuries, including the loss of right tackle Patrick Mekari today.