Ravens Show Mettle in Loss to Bengals, Poised to Play Better in Rematch
Ravens rookie third-string quarterback Anthony Brown handed the Cincinnati Bengals 21 points off three turnovers.
If he had protected the ball better, there might have been a different result. Sammy Watkins also fumbled after a 47-yard gain that could have made it a one-score game.
The Ravens could not overcome those miscues in the 27-16 setback in the regular season finale.
“A lot to learn from, just can’t turn the ball over three times," Brown said. "Don’t turn the ball over three times, and we don’t know what happens. Yeah, just learn from my mistakes, move on, and get better.”
The teams meet again next week in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
That matchup will have a much different look.
“I think obviously playing an opponent that we’re kind of familiar with will be interesting for us, and obviously playing them twice – it will be three times now," cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. "We’re 1-1, so obviously it’s a playoff, so I’m sure that both teams are excited to match up again.”
It was a gutsy performance by the Ravens, who were without running back J.K. Dobbins, tight end Mark Andrews, cornerback Marcus Peters, guard Kevin Zeitler, cornerback Brandon Stephens, defensive tackle Rayshad Nichols, and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Baltimore played hard defensively and had a spirited effort against Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who threw for 215 yards and a touchdown.
Ravens rookie David Ojabo had a strip-sack on Burrow that led to a field midway through the third quarter.
If nothing else, the Ravens played well enough to give the Bengals something to worry about heading into their rematch next week.
"I feel like we proved a big point to them to show them that next week it’s not going to be the same outcome, definitely,” said tight end Isaiah Likely, who had eight catches for 103 yards.
If Jackson is back in the lineup, that will change the entire dynamic of the game. The rest of those Ravens players that were held out of Week 18 will also make an impact.
The Bengals did a lot of chirping during the game and that will also provide the Ravens with some added motivation.
There were concerns that the Ravens would be one-and-done in the playoffs, but now, they showed they have the pride and depth to perhaps win a game or two.
It begins with Cincinnati.
“Obviously, [this was] a tough loss, so we’ll be excited to get back here," rookie center Tyler Linderbaum said. "Obviously on offense, [we have] a lot of stuff to clean up. Defense helped us out a lot, but going in to next week, [we have] a lot of things to clean up, but the good thing is we can play a lot better than we did. So, [I am] looking forward to it.”
