3 Winners and 8 Losers From Ravens' Deflating Loss To Bengals

There weren't even half a dozen winners and more than half a dozen losers from the Baltimore Ravens' seventh game of the 2026 regular season.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) runs with a catch in the second quarter of the NFL Week 7 game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. The Ravens led 13-0 at halftime. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Baltimore Ravens lost back-to-back games for the first time this season in Week 7 on Sunday by allowing a second straight divisional rival to come from behind as the Cincinnati Bengals beat them 35-13 at home.

With franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson out with an ankle injury for the third week in a row, they came into this game as slight underdogs to come out on top but looked like they were well on their way to defying the odds and pulling off the upset after dominating the first half.

Unfortunately, they went from pitching a shutout to getting shut out in the second half and blowing another double-digit lead for the second week in a row in even more epic fashion. With the loss, they fell to 4-3 and are bottom of the division, where they rightfully belong given how they've played the past two weeks.

Here are several Ravens players and coaches who stepped up and showed out, and others who made some costly mistakes from coaching and execution standpoints.

Winners

WR Zay Flowers

The two-time Pro Bowler was the only player who balled out in this game and couldn't be stopped no matter what the opposition did to try to slow him down. Flowers eclipsed 100 receiving yards in the first half of a game for the third time this season and for the first time without Jackson playing either half. He finished with a team-leading eight catches on 11 targets for 137 receiving yards and his third touchdown of the season.

ZAY FLOWERS TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

48-YARD TOUCHDOWN TO @ZayFlowers!!! Tune in on CBS! pic.twitter.com/RDspeiOR3T

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 25, 2026

OLB Mike Green

In a game where Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was nearly sacked what felt like a half dozen times, the second-year pro was the only defender who managed to actually get him on the ground. Green's third sack of the season and the Ravens' lone sack of the game came at the perfect time, as it secured their first-half shutout since it came in the final 31 seconds and kept the clock running with Cincinnati out of timeouts.

No one picks up Mike Green up the middle leading to a Ravens sack and a 13-0 halftime lead. pic.twitter.com/u3qtCq5E0k

— Bengals & Brews (@BengalsBrews) October 26, 2026

K Tyler Loop

The second-year pro didn't have to attempt a field goal over 40 yards, but the fact that he made all three of his kicks, which included an extra point, bodes well for him after a costly miss inside 50 yards last week. It remains to be seen if Loop has truly gotten past his second-half kicking issue, as the Ravens bypassed their only field goal opportunity in the second half to try to capitalize in the red zone on fourth and short.

Losers

Oct 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) makes a catch defended by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins (2) during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Secondary

There were so many culprits from this unit who were culpable for the Ravens' downfall in this game that they deserved to be lumped together. After only allowing Burrow to complete half of his dozen passing attempts in the first half for a measly 43 passing yards and no touchdowns, they got carved up and torched for 249 and four touchdowns in the second. Burrow went 16-of-18 over the final two quarters because the Ravens' defensive backs were being taken advantage of and making mistakes every which way.

They failed to plaster in coverage on extended plays, did not properly pass off routes in zone and just straight lost and were outmatched in one-on-one situations at the intermediate level and deep down the field. Tee Higgins went off for 148 receiving yards on six catches, while Ja'Marr Chase made several impressive key grabs, and both scored touchdowns.

Offensive line

The Ravens were able to build their double-digit lead by predominantly having backup quarterback Tyler Huntley throw the ball all over the yard, in large part because their running game couldn't get going, and that didn't get any better after halftime. They weren't able to get any traction on the ground and were especially poor when it came to short-yardage situations, even before stud first-round rookie left with a knee injury. Their inability to win at the point of attack in the trenches has been the main reason the offense as a whole has struggled in Jackson's absence and why they've gotten held to under 100 yards rushing as a team in back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 2 and 3 of last season.

OLB Trey Hendrickson

In his first game against his former team, the four-time Pro Bowler went from breathing down Burrow's neck for most of the first half despite facing constant double teams to not being much of a factor in the second, along with the rest of the Ravens' pass rush. He finished with a team-leading two quarterback hits, one of which was nearly a sack, but his revenge game was ultimately spoiled by an epic second-half collapse from the unit as a whole.

RB Derrick Henry

Oct 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) tackles Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a torrid start to the season, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer has been held to fewer than 100 rushing yards and out of the end zone in back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 13 and 15 of the 2024 season. While he claimed that he had a "terrible" individual performance, that was simply him falling on the sword for his blocking, or rather lack thereof, since he was contacted in the backfield far too often for negative plays and runs that barely got back to or past the line of scrimmage.

OC Declan Doyle

For the second week in a row, the first-year play-caller went from looking like the next coming of Sean McVay in the first half to having no answers or adjustments in the second. With his young tight ends struggling to make and sustain blocks out of condensed formations, he didn't run the ball enough out of spread formations, and his biggest mistake was not using his mobile backup quarterback's legs enough.

Huntley isn't Lamar Jackson in terms of his ability to cut and move laterally; nobody is, but he is a strong North-South runner. Doyle didn't dial up a single quarterback power or draw for him and waited until it was too little, too late to call his first and only quarterback sneak, which didn't come until the fourth quarter when the Bengals were up by 22 points and had all the momentum, and it failed miserably.

Second-half tackling

Oct 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals halfback Samaje Perine (34) holds back Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As has been the case in all three of their losses and even in some of their wins, the Ravens struggled to bring ball carriers and pass catchers down in open space and short of the line to gain, and especially in high-leverage moments after halftime. They went from flying around and playing fast and physical downhill with great results in the first two quarters to missing multiple opportunities to make key stops and force negative plays for sacks and tackles for loss.

According to PFF, the Ravens missed 11 tackles (7 on pass plays).

Here's 4 from the 4th quarter. pic.twitter.com/fkc5MK6DUA

— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) October 26, 2026

Chances of winning division

While the Ravens still possess a winning record heading into next week's massive road conference matchup with the Buffalo Bills, they're now the only team in the AFC North without a win against a divisional opponent. If the rest of their rivals keep stacking wins, they won't be able to make up any ground until December, since they close out the regular season with four straight division games, concluding with a road primetime game against the Bengals on New Year's Eve and a home finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers 10 days later

Fraud allegations

Having Huntley under center in this game instead of Jackson nerfed any chance the Ravens had of winning a shootout with Burrow and the Bengals, but it didn't come to that until after halftime. However, as bad as being without a two-time league MVP is, that should have no bearing on how woefully poor the defense played for the final two quarters.

A collection of star-studded talent that was being hailed as a potential top-10, if not top-five, unit got absolutely dog-walked up and down the field on their way to making history in the worst way by becoming the first team in the franchise's 31-year history to get outscored by 35 or more points in a half. The fact that they haven't scored a single second-half point in six of the eight quarters they've played without Jackson is an embarrassing travesty that falls on the shoulders of the players and coaches collectively.