BALTIMORE -- A couple of weeks ago the Bengals were riding the high of a four-game win streak. They had dismantled the New York Jets at home by 40 points, a final margin of victory that just doesn't happen in the NFL, and sat comfortably on top of the AFC North division with a 6-2 record.
Next Sunday's home game against Cleveland has suddenly become very interesting and important.
With a second straight overtime loss, this one 20-17 at Baltimore on Sunday, the Bengals have lost their margin for error in the division. At 6-4, they still hold the advantage over the idle Browns (4-5) and season-just-saved Ravens (4-5) but the comfort level is gone like one of the three interceptions Andy Dalton threw on Sunday.
There's a big difference between 8-2 or 7-3 and 6-4.
This was not a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination. It took a 51-yard Hail Mary pass from Dalton to A.J. Green via tips from Marvin Jones and Baltimore safety James Ihedigbo and then Mike Nugent's extra point with no time remaining just to send the game into overtime. Before the final drive of regulation, Dalton had a passer rating of 35.6, which would've been the lowest of his career. The defense kept the Bengals in the game by coming up with eight straight stops after the Ravens had taken a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.
Each team turned the ball over three times. Dalton and Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco were each sacked five times. While the Bengals outgained the Ravens 364-189, ran 16 more plays than Baltimore and had the ball 6:23 more than the Ravens, they helped equalize matters by committing nine penalties for 134 yards, converting just five of 19 third-down attempts and failing on two critical fourth downs. Baltimore turned the two missed fourth downs into 10 points, including Justin Tucker's game-winning 46-yard field goal with 5:27 remaining in overtime.
The Bengals have won games by four points (Green Bay), seven points (New England) and twice on last-play field goals (Buffalo and Detroit). The last two games have been frustrating reminders of how quickly momentum can change.
The trick for Cincinnati is to now find a way to take back some of the mojo it has lost.
"We know that in this league everyone is very close in talent and the teams that win are the teams that execute down the stretch," said linebacker Vinny Rey, who had 13 tackles, three sacks and his first career interception while playing in place of an injured Rey Maualuga. "The key for us is to play hard and smart every down. I wish there was a magic pill but there is no magic pill. We've just got to play hard and smart. Number one is going back to work on Wednesday."
Head coach Marvin Lewis tried to grab hold of this game's mojo right away. He gambled on the Bengals' first drive of the game, going for a fourth-and-one just across midfield. Dalton's sneak attempt went nowhere.
"It was fourth-and-half-a-yard," said Lewis. "I expect us to make it."
The Ravens attacked right away with the good field position, throwing deep to wide receiver Jacoby Jones off a flea-flicker. Adam Jones bit hard on the handoff to Ray Rice as Jones raced by him. Safety Reggie Nelson was late getting to over to recover and was flagged for a 48-yard pass interference penalty.
Flacco made it 7-0 with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark on third-and-goal, eluding defensive end Carlos Dunlap's diving attempt at a sack in the process. Flacco wasn't necessarily good on Sunday, but he was good enough when he needed to be. That wouldn't be the only time he kept a play alive with his feet.
No one can discredit the Bengals' character and ability to persevere. The trouble has been their ability to put themselves in difficult predicaments in the first place. This is the third time this season and the second straight game the Bengals have fallen behind by double digits. They have fought back all three times, including beating Green Bay 34-30 in Week 3 after trailing by 16 points. The odds caught up to them last week at Miami and again on Sunday.
The Bengals failed on 10 consecutive third-down attempts at one point in the game. Dalton halted the streak with a 12-yard scramble on third-and-10 with 3:20 left in regulation, moving the ball to the Baltimore 38, but two plays later he misfired badly on a throw intended for A.J. Green and Ihedigbo had his second interception of the game.
"I know this team and anyone who has seen us knows we are never going to give up, we are going to fight to the end," said Dalton. "This game is different if we make plays here and there… We were very close to winning this game, we just needed one more play and we couldn't do it. We've had a couple of games like this (one) this year. Today we just couldn't get it done."
The Bengals have a week to figure out how to get it done against Cleveland or the AFC North is going to become even more interesting.
They are 4-0 this season at Paul Brown Stadium but home field won't mean a thing against the Browns if they don't stop hurting themselves.
"The way we fought in this game, I don't worry about (lost momentum) at all," said Lewis. "I thought this was a game that we showed the kind of attitude that these guys have and play with. They could've put their tails between their legs and ducked their heads and checked out but they didn't do that. They kept playing. We scored on the very last play of the ballgame. They kept playing. The defense was on a short field quite a bit today and kept going out there and playing. They didn't flinch.
"That's what we've got to do."
