Ravens on Right Side of History vs. Bengals

The Baltimore Ravens withstood historic performances from the Cincinnati Bengals' star quarterback this season.

Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (53) force Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) out of the pocket in the fourth quarter of the NFL game at M&T Banks Stadium in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and fortunately for the Baltimore Ravens they were on the right side of history in both matchups this season against the Cincinnati Bengals.

In both of Baltimore's two contests against Cincinnati, quarterback Joe Burrow had over 30 completions, 300 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, multiple passing touchdowns of over 40 yards and no more than one interception. According to OptaSTATS, there have been only two instances where a player has recorded those stats and been on the losing team, with both coming in the Ravens' wins over the Bengals in Week 5 and their most recent matchup on Thursday Night Football.

In the Ravens' 35-34 win over the Bengals on Thursday, Burrow completed 34 of 56 passes for 428 yards and four touchdowns. In Week 5, Burrow had another impressive performance, completing 30 of 39 passes for 392 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in the Ravens' 41-38 win in overtime.

Between the two games this season, Burrow threw for 820 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception, though Baltimore lived to tell the tale on both occasions.

Despite those wins, cornerback Marlon Humphrey noted how tough it is for him and the defense to enjoy it when the pass defense has struggled for most of the season.

"These wins are getting harder to enjoy based off of what we're doing in the pass defense," Humphrey said. "I feel like when I was a rookie – first-year guy, second-year guy – the vets I looked up to [and] the standard that was there and the pass defense ... We've really lost that standard, and I feel like that falls on me. We're going to keep chasing at it. We're going to keep working at it, because I'm not really satisfied with what I've built in this secondary [and] where it's gone."

Fortunately for the Ravens, Lamar Jackson delivered two MVP-level performances against the Bengals. In Week 5, he completed 26 of 42 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns, while he completed 25 of 33 passes and threw four touchdowns on Thursday.

Still, even with Jackson en route to potentially winning the third MVP of his career, the Ravens' defense has to figure it out and rely on their quarterback to bail them out as he did in both games against the Bengals.

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