Postgame Observations: Joe Burrow Shutout for First Time, Bengals Lose to Ravens 24-0

CINCINNATI — The Bengals needed to win to keep their season alive. Instead, they played like it was already over.

Baltimore routed Cincinnati 24-0 on Sunday at Paycor Stadium to stay in the AFC North mix. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow and the Bengals had arguably the worst offensive performance of his NFL career.

This is the first time Burrow has been shutout in his NFL career. It's the first time the Bengals have been shutout since they lost to the Ravens 20-0 in Week 1 of the 2017 season.

Cincinnati falls to 4-10 on the season. They're officially eliminated from playoff contention. Here are our postgame observations:

Awful Offense

Burrow was awful. The offensive line wasn't much better. Ja'Marr Chase made mistakes.

The entire offense was out of sync for the entire game.

Burrow was off target on multiple throws, especially early in the game. Chase had multiple drops. This offense never got into a rhythm.

The Bengals had the ball at the Ravens' 25, 29 and 32-yard line and failed to score any points on those possessions.

Burrow completed 25-of-39 passes for 225 yards and two interceptions, including a pick-six in the fourth quarter. Chase led the way with 10 catches for 132 yards. Chase Brown was second on the team with seven catches for 37 yards. He also ran for 53 yards.

The Bengals didn't get into the red zone until the 9:44 mark of the fourth quarter. Burrow threw a pick-six on that possession.

Defense Improves

The Bengals' defense forced three-straight stops to start the game and got consistent pressure on Lamar Jackson.

Myles Murphy led the way with two sacks, three quarterback hits and two tackles-for-loss. Demetrius Knight Jr. had his best game as a pro, finishing with six tackles (two for loss), two sacks, two quarterback hits and one forced fumble.

Jordan Battle also made a nice interception on a dropped pass by Zay Flowers. It was a nice diving grab by the third-year safety.

The Bengals did give up back-to-back touchdowns on Baltimore's final two possessions of the first half. That allowed the Ravens to take firm control of the game going into the half.

Jackson completed 8-of-12 passes for 150 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked four times. Derrick Henry ran the ball 11 times for 100 yards.

First Half

The Bengals' offense was awful in the first half. Burrow completed 8-of-16 passes for 71 yards and one interception. He was sacked twice and had a 36.2 quarterback rating. Cincinnati ran the ball for 63 yards, with Chase Brown (32) and Samaje Perine (28) accounting for 60 of them.

Ja'Marr Chase led the way with four catches for 40 yards, but also had two (maybe three) drops. Burrow took a bad sack that knocked the Bengals out of field goal range. Chase had a drop before halftime that kept them from attempting a field goal. Andrei Iosivas had a drop.

Overall, it was an ugly first half for the Bengals' offense. They trailed 14-0 at halftime.

Up Next

The Bengals head to Miami to play the Dolphins on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. ET.

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