Ravens Defense Made Bengals Tap Out

After back-to-back deflating losses to divisional opponents, where they made some impressive plays but gave up too many key moments, the Baltimore Ravens defense was determined to right the ship in a second meeting against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Not only did second-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr's unit answer the call, it did so with their most overwhelmingly dominant and clutch performance of not just this season but of his tenure as the play-caller since taking over last year in a 24-0 shut out victory.

Going up against a red-hot Bengals offense that has averaged 30.1 points in its previous seven games and was just two weeks removed from dropping 32 in Baltimore on Thanksgiving in Joe Burrow's first game back, the Ravens secured their first shutout victory since Week 6 of the 2018 season during Lamar Jackson's rookie season.

"That's Ravens' football right there," Jackson told CBS Sports on the field postgame. "That's the Ravens defense that I'm used to seeing [and] am accustomed to seeing. But there's always room for improvement. Our guys pulled a shutoff today but we just have to keep going and stay locked in and stay focused."

Locked in is exactly what the Ravens were on defense all game long, as their physicality and consistency played a much bigger role in cooling off the Bengals than the frigid temperatures did in one of the coldest games in franchise history. They held Cincinnati to their fewest total yards on offense since Week 6 with 298, recorded a pair of interceptions, forced two turnovers on downs and sacked Burrow three times.

DOMINANT DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE. pic.twitter.com/0wXeUheI9d
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 14, 2025

The crowning jewel of the performance was the 84-yard interception return for a touchdown to extend the Ravens' lead and essentially ice the game and put the Bengals down three scores. It was a brilliantly called play by Orr that was executed to perfection by his players, with Pro Bowl outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy dropping into coverage, which allowed fellow edge defender Tavious Robinson to knife into the backfield unblocked and pressure Burrow to an errant throw. Van Noy picked off the pass and opted to pitch the ball to veteran safety Alohi Gilman, who took it the distance.

"I think we were pissed off we lost to them the first time," Gilman said. "At the end of the day, it's about us. It's about our defense, it's about our team but it was good to go out there and just put that on tape and let everyone know we're ready to roll."

Despite getting the ball back with under eight minutes to play and their slim playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the Bengals essentially waved the white flag and conceded defeat with how lackadaisical they moved and called plays on their final drive of the game. They ran the ball on eight of their 11 plays, including each of the first four, like a team trying to nurse a double-digit lead instead of one needing to overcome one.

It took them over five and a half minutes to advance the ball to the Baltimore 27-yard line before getting stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-one and giving the Ravens the ball back with 62 seconds left on the clock. After third-year running back Keaton Mitchell picked up 26 yards and a first down on back-to-back carries, Cincinnati head coach Zach Taylor opted not to stop the clock despite having all three of his timeouts, signally that they his team didn't want to go down swinging and would rather tap out into elimination.

"We knew we had them on their heels just by how they were calling it, how they looked [and] their demeanor," outside linebacker Dre'Mont Jones said. "They didn't feel lively to me, and I feel like we just wanted to attack them."

Orr gets stamp of approval from franchise legend

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) reacts after a sack in the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans in 2014. — Nov 9, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) reacts after a sack in the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images | Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images

The last time the Ravens held an opponent off the scoreboard for an entire game, leading the charge was future Hall of Famer and seven-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. While it was Jackson's first year with the team and in the league overall, it was the last year with the team for the franchise's all-time sack leader, who had one of the team's 11 sacks in that game.

Suggs played alongside Orr from 2014 until the former undrafted gem turned coach was forced to medically retire following a Second Team All Pro season in 2016. He took to social media to praise his former teammate for calling a 'brilliant game' following his unit's second defensive touchdown of the season.

CHECKMATE!!!!!!

ZACH ORR CALLED A BRILLIANT GAME!!!!!
— HULK SIZZLE (@untouchablejay4) December 14, 2025

After receiving criticism for an inability to force cerebral quarterbacks into mistakes in the Ravens' seven losses, but especially of the past two weeks, Orr had Burrow's number all game long with perfect calls to scheme up pressure and keep the Bengals' explosive passing attack under control. It earned him high praise from head coach John Harbaugh as well when he was speaking to reporters in his postgame press conference.

"We played good defense last week. We played good defense the week before, but coming up with those plays is the difference maker," Harbaugh said. "When you come up with those plays, that's what creates a performance like this, and the guys did that. Zach has been great... hats off to Zach [and] the whole staff – they've done a great job all year."

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