CINCINNATI — Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow traded touchdown throws all afternoon. It took a big run and a chip-shot kick in overtime to settle a wild game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
After Derrick Henry rumbled for 51 yards to put the Ravens at the Bengals 6, Justin Tucker kicked a 24-yard field goal to lift Baltimore to a 41-38 win Sunday.
Tucker kicked a 56-yarder with 1:35 left in regulation to tie a game that featured more than 700 yards passing and nine touchdown passes.
“It was a shootout, a flat-out shootout in the second half,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s a great win against a team that was playing at a high level.”
Tucker's winning field goal came after Evan McPherson missed a 53-yard attempt for Cincinnati after a fumbled snap. That gave Baltimore the ball at its own 43. And on the next play, Henry had his big run for the Ravens (3-2).
The Bengals (1-4) led by 10 points three times in the second half, but Jackson brought the Ravens back each time.
Burrow’s screen pass to Ja’Marr Chase turned into a 70-yard touchdown romp that gave the Bengals a 38-28 lead with 8:54 left.
The Ravens answered with an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped by an improbable 6-yard TD pass to Isaiah Lively by Jackson, who dropped and picked up the shotgun snap before scrambling and stiff-arming Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard before letting go with the pass.
“He was ready, no panic," Henry said of Jackson.
Burrow was intercepted on the next drive and the Bengals stalled on their last possession of regulation, setting up the tying field goal by Tucker.
After Jackson lost a fumble in overtime, McPherson seemed poised to win it for the Bengals in OT. But holder Ryan Rehkow fumbled the snap and McPherson pulled his kick wide left.
“Whether he drops it or it’s perfect, I feel like I should make every kick,” McPherson said.
Jackson was 26 for 42 for 348 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another 55 yards. He threw TD passes of 1 yard and 6 yards to Lively.
Burrow finished 30 of 39 for 392 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, including two each to Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase led the Bengals with 10 catches for 193 yards, and Higgins had nine grabs for 83 yards.
“Perfect is what was needed, and that's not what we did,” Burrow said.
“This one — sickening. For real,” Bengals running back Chase Brown said. “That's my final thought on what happened out there.”
Henry gets his moment
Henry, who has been terrific in his first season with the Ravens, was all but neutralized by the Bengals' defence, at least until the penultimate play of the game.
He had 14 carries for 41 yards and was stopped in the end zone for a safety in the second quarter. Then he broke away for the 51-yard run in overtime to set up the winning field goal.
“Green grass,” said Henry when asked what he saw after the handoff. "Green grass and trying to get as close to the end zone as possible.”
He finished with a respectable 92 yards and a first-quarter touchdown.
Injuries
Bengals: CB Dax Hill was declared out after suffering a right knee injury in the first quarter. ... RT Amarius Mims was carted off with an ankle injury in the third quarter.
Ravens: T Roger Rosengarten left with an ankle injury in the second quarter.
Up next
Ravens: Host the Washington Commanders next Sunday.
Bengals: At New York Giants next Sunday night.
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