Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Beat The Bengals: The Good, Bad & The Ugly

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:30 p.m. ET

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Nov 27, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) high fives fans after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 19-14 at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Ravens Beat Bengals: The Good, Bad & Ugly

The Ravens beat the Bengals on Sunday. It was a huge win for Baltimore. By snapping the Bengals win 5 game winning streak against them, the Ravens reclaimed first place in the AFC North. The Ravens are now 6-5 and have the tie breaker against the Steelers. This game was a must win for the Ravens who have to stay on pace to win the AFC North. The final score is all that matters and the Ravens took care of business against Marvin Lewis’s team.

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The Ravens did enough to win. The Bengals were not at full strength. A.J. Green did not play. He is known for being the Ravens killer. The Bengals are having a down year. After their loss to Baltimore, their record became 3-7-1. The purple and black are now 4-0 against their AFC North counterparts.

Let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game. The result was great. The process was a mixed bag. There is plenty to be happy about, so let’s start with the good.

Nov 27, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) pressured by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The Good:

Baltimore got off to a hot start. The purple and black drove down the field for an impressive 11 play scoring drive. By using a faster tempo and a nice balance, the Ravens made offense look easy. It may not have lasted but it was great to see. Kenneth Dixon’s stats may be modest but he had an impressive day. Dixon split carries with Terrance West. To go with his 49 rushing yards, Dixon caught 4 passes for 31 yards. Dixon is clearly a player the Ravens need to lean on more.

The purple and black have a way of showing flashes. It is almost like an entirely different team exists. Sometimes this team breaks out and shows us an exciting dose of a high potential. When Breshad Perriman made that epic touchdown grab, it was a spark. There were times that Kenneth Dixon put on an absolute show. Eventually the Ravens may find out how to be this exciting team on a regular basis, but we can’t complain when the offense breaks out of its stagnation. The Ravens offense made some big plays in this game.

The Great:

The defense had another strong outing. Holding an NFL team to 12 points (2 came on a safety) is never a bad look for the defense. For most of the game the Bengals rushing attack was a no-show. Andy Dalton only completed 54 percent of his passes. The former TCU quarterback had 283 yards and a touchdown. The defense also forced three fumbles, recovering two of them. Terrell Suggs had a sizzling performance. He had three sacks and two forced fumbles. Elvis Dumervil forced a fumble that ended the Bengals final drive. It was nice to see number 58 back on the field.

Justin Tucker is a living legend at the kicker position. Tucker has not missed a kick all season and he added four field goals to his resume. Three of those field goals were from beyond 50 yards; the longest kick was 57 yards. The end of the game was a brilliant. Instead of giving the Bengals the ball back, Baltimore had Sam Koch run out all the time giving up a safety in the back of the end zone. The Bengals got two points but the game ended with a purple victory.

Nov 27, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) is pressured by Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones (24) at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad:

The Ravens offense started the game strong but this great effort did not last. The Ravens had five scoring drives in this low scoring affair and 4 of them were field goals. Scoring three instead of six is a way of keeping the opponent in the game. The purple and black successfully staved off the Bengals comeback attempt but the comeback was only possible because the Ravens failed to put them away. The Ravens could have run away with this game. Instead they won another game by a one score margin.

The purple and black had nine drives end with a field goal or a punt. Baltimore turned the ball over once and continued to struggle on 3rd down. The offense looked so good in the beginning but the unit quickly reverted back to rather pedestrian results. Flacco had just 234 yards passing on 36 passing attempts.

The offense in the first half was much better than it was in the second half. I will never understand why this team can do so well in the beginning of the game and then see all their momentum and productivity halt. It’s frustrating and it is mind boggling. I honestly don’t know if this problem can be solved. If the Ravens knew how to fix it, we wouldn’t see the same thing happen over and over again.

The Ugly:

The Ravens problems in this game were self-imposed. They had eight penalties compared to the Bengals two. While the Ravens got to the red zone three times, they only walked away with a touchdown once. The Ravens went five for 16 on 3rd down conversions, which really isn’t good enough.

The purple and black really lacked explosive plays on the offensive side of the football. They averaged just 4.6 yards per play. They averaged just 3.1 yards per rushing attempt. The Ravens got into a groove early but the offense was fairly pedestrian the rest of the game. The Ravens played a close game against a 3-6-1 Bengals team that was not at full strength due to injuries. This game was frustrating because fans know that they need to do better against tougher teams.

There was more good than bad in this game for Baltimore. The end result is a very important win. The AFC North is within the Ravens reach. Every goal the Ravens set before the season is still within reach. Now the team has to start building off the good and lessening the bad and ugly moments in their game.