4 winners and 5 losers as the Bengals fall to the Ravens

The Cincinnati Bengals returned to the Queen City this afternoon as they kicked off their first division game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens.

Commencing AFC North play, we had two teams with really good offenses in somewhat of a defensive slugfest. Featuring a safety and seven total punts, the first half might have looked different than many would have guessed.

Despite that, the Bengals battled on both sides of the ball, and a late touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase helped propel them to a 17-14 lead heading into the locker room.

The second half was exactly the opposite. Both teams decided it was time to score some points, and that’s exactly what we got in the third and fourth quarters. Whether it was Cincinnati or Baltimore, both teams put on a show. Cincinnati ended up losing 41-38 in overtime.

Now let’s take a look at a few winners and losers from today's win/loss:

Winners

Joe Burrow

This is one we are used to seeing over the last several seasons, and that trend continues today.

Earlier this week, Burrow mentioned he would need to play close to perfect to help propel the team to a win today. Well, minus the last interception, that’s just what he did.

He finished the day with 392 yards on 30-of-39 passing while also adding five touchdowns and an interception.

When healthy, Burrow and the Bengals are one of the best teams in the NFL. Now, with the offense back to full strength across the skill positions, let’s hope that the trend continues and that Burrow and the Bengals start to make some noise.

Chase Brown

The Bengals turned over the keys to Chase Brown this season in the running-back room, and it seems like the second-year player is finally starting to find his footing.

He finished today's game with 12 carries for 46 yards while also adding a receiving touchdown to his stat line on three catches for eight yards.

Building off an impressive performance last week in Carolina, Brown has now built up his own confidence alongside that of the coaching staff as they look to get this offense moving. Joe Burrow and this offense are at their best when they can move the ball on the ground, and with Brown leading the way, it appears they will be in good shape going forward.

Ja’Marr Chase

A tremendous afternoon for the star wide receiver.

Chase finished the day with 10 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Coming into the season, there was obviously a lot of speculation as to whether Chase would take the field for the Bengals this season. With a few games under his belt, we finally saw the star receiver have his breakout game to hopefully kick-start his season.

It still remains short and simple. We have to pay the man.

Tee Higgins

After failing to reach the end zone in the first month of the season, Higgins managed to get there twice today, catching nine balls for 83 yards and two scores. Higgins’ stock is back on the uptick as he looks to finally get his big payday next offseason.

Losers

Zac Taylor

Getting the ball in Ravens territory in overtime and essentially settling for a long field goal with three straight runs was absolutely brutal, and it cost the Bengals dearly. Taylor’s teams continue to make horrible gaffes at the worst-possible moments.

Lou Anarumo

Oof. It feels like a lifetime ago when Lou was regarded as one of the NFL’s best defensive play-callers. He’s now coordinating what’s arguably the worst defense in the NFL and should be firmly on the hot seat moving forward.

Vonn Bell

The Bengals were hoping Bell’s return could help fix this defense, but Bell continues to regress to the point he’s nearly unplayable. He was repeatedly burned for big plays in this one to the point Jordan Battle actually got playing time. Might be time for Bell to be the starter moving forward. Bell just doesn’t seem to have it.

Dax Hill

Early this season, the Bengals have been fighting the injury bug.

It started off with Tee Higgins fighting his way back to the field and then continued with injuries to Myles Murphy, BJ Hill, and a few others across the defensive line.

Now, it appears it is the defensive backs’ turn. Mike Hilton was already out today due to a knee injury, and his replacement was Dax Hill, who also suffered a knee injury.

Hill had been playing some good football after moving to cornerback, but his season is now in jeopardy after suffering a non-contact injury early in this one.

Pro Football Doc thinks this is a season-ending ACL tear.

We also need to add in the injury to Amarius Mims, who left for about a quarter of action due to an ankle injury but returned to the game. It will be interesting to see his status moving forward.

Bengals fans

The Bengals have had plenty of painful losses in the franchise’s long history, but boy is that one gonna be up there. It felt like the season was really riding on this game. The coaches and players had every chance to win it but completely blew it, leaving fans to wonder what is there to be hopeful about with the direction of this franchise.

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