BALTIMORE — John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens know that divisions are not won in October.
But there is no bad time for a first home victory of the season, especially against a division rival who also happens to be the defending AFC champion.
The Ravens defeated the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, 19-17, thanks to Justin Tucker’s game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired. It was a reversal from a week ago when the Buffalo Bills mounted a second-half comeback and converted their own walk-off field goal at M&T Bank Stadium.
Baltimore secured its first home victory of the season and also moved into first place in the AFC North, ahead of the Bengals and Cleveland Browns, both of whom are 2-3.
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32 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM WEEK 5:New York, New York on the rise
Here are three things we learned Sunday night:
Joe Burrow outduels Jackson, but Lamar gets last laugh
Despite two of the league’s brightest stars at the most important position – in quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, respectively – the teams struggled offensively.
The signal-callers themselves were largely pedestrian, as defense and field position determined the first three-plus quarters. Cincinnati averaged 5.0 yards per pass play, while Baltimore was slightly better (5.2 yards per play).
Burrow appeared to deliver a knockout blow by leading the Bengals on a touchdown drive and finding the end zone inside of the two-minute warning.
But Jackson, the 2019 MVP, answered and crafted his own game-winning drive. The Cincinnati defense guarded the boundaries as Jackson directed a two-minute drill, a point of emphasis in practice this week, he said, after Baltimore’s recent late-game struggles.
Statistically, Burrow had the better game, going 24-for-35 with 217 passing yards. Jackson was far more inefficient (19-for-32, 174 yards).
“I played all right,” Jackson said.
Each quarterback threw his own inopportune interception; Burrow’s led to a Tucker 58-yard field goal.
Twice early in the third quarter Jackson overthrew a receiver on the way to six points, two plays he would like to have back.
“Those things happen,” Jackson said. “They key is that we won. I’ll be mad at film (study) though.”
Jackson also carried 12 times for 58 yards. He surp
assed the 4,000-yard career rushing mark and became the fastest quarterback (sixth overall) quarterback to reach that mark. Jackson did it in 63 games, while Michael Vick (87 games) was previously the quickest to that milestone.
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Double Edged Razor Blade Personna® Stainless Steel, Coated BOX/100
class=”gnt_ar_b_p”>“There is nobody like him,” Harbaugh said. “I’ll take him over everybody. He’s ours. We love Lamar. He’s the Ravens quarterback. I know the Ravens fans feel the same way. We love Lamar. Players love him. Our organization loves him.”
He heavily relied on tight end Mark Andrews (eight catches, 89 yards, one touchdown) and receiver Devin Duvernay (five catches, 54 yards).
Zac Taylor learned from goal-line cuteness
The Bengals had a prime chance to either tie or take the lead late in the third quarter after the offense moved the ball and took advantage of Baltimore penalties. That brought them to a second-and-goal situation from the Ravens’ 2-yard line.
What ensued was a mess. The Bengals tried their own version of the “Philly Special” and suffered a 12-yard loss; Marcus Peters was credited with a sack for blowing up the play.
“That was a big play,” Harbaugh said. “There were a lot of things happening on that drive.”
A Ja’Marr Chase catch brought them back to the 2, but an ill-fated shovel pass to the inside was snuffed out and Cincinnati turned it over on downs.
And a 15-play, 73-yard drive that went eight minutes and four seconds went for naught.
Taylor didn’t complicate matters much in the game’s biggest moment. On the half-yard line with two minutes left and trailing 16-10, Taylor called for a Burrow sneak that was successful and tied the game.
A dicey extra point from Evan McPherson – the kick sailed over the right upright and was ruled a good kick – followed to give Cincinnati a one-point lead.
Justin Tucker remains a unicorn
Even when things become stagnant for the Baltimore offense, crossing midfield presents an opportunity for points thanks to the right leg of Tucker.
Tucker opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal on the Ravens’ opening drive. In the third quarter, he hit from 58 yards away with ease (the NBC broadcast said the kick would have been good from 61 yards) to give Baltimore a 13-10 lead.
That all was the appetizer for Tucker’s clutch moment, when he sent Ravens fans home happy.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
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