Despite my displeasure with how the 4th Quarter ended, the most important thing from today is that the Baltimore Ravens won. With the 31-24 home victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens moved to 3-0 within the AFC North, and 7-3 overall.

The Good:

1) The Bengals might have converted 3rd and 8 on their initial series, but Nakamura made a nice strip of the ball to force an incomplete pass.

2) Following Cincinnati’s initial TD, Ricky Williams would enter the game and pick up a tough 3rd and 1.

3) After punting on their first 3 possessions, the Ravens would score on their 4th. Facing 3rd and 4, Flacco would hit Dickson for 14 yards, and follow that up with a 35 yard catch and run to Boldin for the score. This was a great job by the Ravens of taking advantage of a poor punt by Cincinnati.

4) Webb did a good job jumping an out route and breaking up a pass. In the 4th, he had an outstanding diving interception. His cover skills seem to be back to what they were during his rookie year.

5) After breaking through and getting on the board for the first time, the Ravens went back on the attack the next time they got the ball. Nice pass and catch from Flacco to T. Smith for the 49 yard gain. Several plays later Ray Rice would find the end-zone.
5a) Finding Smith would be a trademark of the day, as the Rookie WR finished with 6 grabs, for 165 yards, and a TD. The 38 yard TD would come after Webb’s interception, as Smith just ran by the Bengals defenders.

6) Reed grabbed his 3rd pick of the season (and 1st since the opener) showing his ball skills to end the 1st half. Just a great job from the future HOF of closing on the ball.

7) Rice kicked off the 2nd half with a 59 yard run. The RB would finish with 20 carries, for 104 yards and 2 TD’s. He also had 5 catches for 43 yards. The Bengals entered today 2nd against the run.

8) The Bengals were not able to convert a 3rd and 4 in the 1st Quarter when Pollard brought Dalton down with a sack.

9) Jimmy Smith had his first NFL interception, and showed some return skills prior to coughing the ball up.

10) Flacco finished 17 for 27 for 270 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 int.

11) The Ravens defense needed someone to make a play on that last series, and Suggs delivered on 2nd and Goal. On 3rd down, Ngata also stepped-up, and flushed the pocket. On 4th down, it was McPhee racing towards the Cincinnati QB.

The Bad:

1) Baltimore was not able to pick up 3rd and 2 on their first series, when there was some missed communication between Flacco and Rice.

2) Cincinnati connected on a 47 yard pass from Dalton to Simpson on their 2nd possession. Some credit goes to Dalton for the throw, some credit goes to Simpson for the catch. Some of the blame has to go to Williams for jumping a split second to early and not knocking the ball away. Simpson beat Williams again with just over a minute left inthe game to give the Bengals 1st and Goal.

3) On that same drive, Chris Carr would be called for Pass Interference, setting the Bengals up for 1st and Goal. Cincinnati would score on the next play, a 7 yard TD run by Benson.

4) The 1st Quarter ended with Flacco hitting Leach’s arm, and fumbling the ball. Flacco recovered, but the 7 yard loss to start the possession did not help. Pitta would back the Ravens up further with a false start.

5) With the Bengals facing 3rd and 8 early in the 2nd Quarter, the Ravens were forced to burn a timeout when they did not have their defense at the line and ready.

6) With the first half coming to an end, Flacco was picked. The Ravens had moved 41 yards prior to the Int, and were in position to really grab control of the game.

7) Facing 3rd and 2 from the Bengals 2, the Ravens could not find the end-zone and had to settle for 3.

8) Up 17-7, the Ravens defense had the Bengals needing 3 yards on 3rd down. Dalton would hit Leonard for 37 yards, and follow that with blown coverage which allowed Gresham to pick up 24 more. A couple of players later, Benson would score his 2nd TD of the game. Baltimore was in position to get some daylight between them and the Bengals, and they allowed the Rookie Dalton to lead Cincinnati on a 7 play 80 yard TD drive to get back into the game.

9) Oher was called for holding.

10) J. Smith looks like another Ravens defender that is not satisfied with just making gaining possession, he wants to do something positive when he gets the ball. I respect that, as it is part of the reason the Ravens defense has been so elite over the last decade. However, he was lucky that the Ravens were able to recover the ball after his fumble.

11) The Ravens had trouble getting pressure today, as Dalton quickly got rid of the ball.

12) Dalton had the 3 picks, but finished with 373 yards passing. Cincinnati had 483 yards of offense overall, and had 5 receivers with at-least 47 yards receiving.

The Ugly:

1) Up 31-14, this game should have been completely over down the stretch. However, Cincinnati would go 5 plays, and 80 yards over 3 minutes for the score to pull within 10. Dalton hit Caldwell for the 49 yard TD, as Smith was badly beaten in 1×1 coverage.
After the Ravens got the ball back, they would go 3 and out on three carries from Rice. Receiving the Ravens punt with 8:57 on the clock, Cincinnati would again go 80 yards for another score. This time the Bengals drive would be over 9 plays, resulting in a FG. With no pressure up-front, Williams was again beat deep on the Bengals last drive, giving Cincinnati a 1st and Goal and opportunity to tie the game. The Ravens had a 17 point 4th Quarter lead, and their defense allowed a Rookie QB to nearly pull them even. That is unacceptable for a defense which is considered elite.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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