The Baltimore Ravens’ five-game winning streak has been impressive over the last month-plus, but the last couple of weeks have not been pretty for the team.
They are coming off a 23-10 win over the New York Jets, but the focus of that game was the offensive struggles of Baltimore. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has struggled with accuracy in the pocket, and the most yards he has thrown for in a game since returning from his hamstring injury was 204 yards against the Miami Dolphins.
Entering their Thanksgiving Day game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens were desperate to stay pace with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North division race. Ultimately, five turnovers and seven penalties sank the Ravens, who lost 32-14 to the Bengals.
Turnovers and penalties killed any momentum on the offense
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
The story of this game was the turnovers the Ravens had. In particular, it was Jackson who had a stormy night with two fumbles lost and an interception. This is now the third straight game Jackson has not scored a touchdown after throwing for 246 yards and rushing for 27 more. That’s the first time in Jackson’s career that he did not throw a touchdown in a game in three straight contests.
Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely had another fumble in the game as he managed to catch a pass and go for 43 yards for what was supposed to be a touchdown. Likely ended up fumbling inside the five-yard line, which went out in the end zone for a touchback and gave the ball to the Bengals.
Penalties were a killer for the Ravens as they had seven of them for 53 yards. Perhaps the biggest one came in the fourth quarter with a little over eight minutes left on third and three at the Bengals’ 46-yard line. It initially looked like an offside, as they had seven on the Bengals, but the Ravens were called for a false start. That would have stalled the drive and not converted the fourth down.
Ravens’ secondary gets exposed by Bengals’ offense
Cincinnati got its quarterback, Joe Burrow, back, and that made the difference in the game. Despite Burrow only completing a little over 50% of his passes, he had 261 yards and two touchdowns.
Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins got knocked out of this game with a foot injury, which hurt the secondary and how they handled Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Marlon Humphrey was handling him for the most part and struggled. Chase finished with seven receptions for 110 yards in the game.
There wasn’t much in the secondary that went well for the Ravens, as they hope they don’t lose Wiggins for a long time. His loss could jeopardize Baltimore’s chances of winning the division, as they take a major hit in their bid to catch the Steelers.
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