Jackson-less Ravens Collapse Again as Burrow Torches Baltimore With 4 TDs
Joe Burrow threw four second-half touchdown passes to rally Cincinnati past Baltimore 35-13, handing Lamar Jackson's injury-depleted Ravens their second straight divisional meltdown.
The Baltimore Ravens did it again. For the second straight week, and the 10th time since the start of the 2022 season, Baltimore blew a double-digit lead — and this time it came at home, without Lamar Jackson, in a game they once led 13-0.
Joe Burrow made sure of it. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback threw all four of his touchdown passes in the second half, erasing a scoreless first-half performance to beat the Ravens 35-13 on Sunday and move Cincinnati to 4-2. Baltimore falls to 4-3 and has now lost five of its past six at M&T Bank Stadium.
Jackson missed his third consecutive game with an ankle injury — the Ravens are 1-2 without their MVP quarterback this season — and backup Tyler Huntley couldn't hold the line. Huntley actually torched Cincinnati's secondary early, throwing for 215 yards in the first half alone, 120 of them to a red-hot Zay Flowers, who opened the scoring with a 48-yard catch-and-run. But Baltimore's offense stalled badly after the break, managing only a late scoring drive while Burrow and the Bengals scored five unanswered touchdowns.
Second-half surge
Cincinnati's spark came out of the locker room: a 66-yard opening drive of the third quarter capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki, followed by a 13-yard strike to Tee Higgins that put the Bengals ahead for good. Burrow finished 22-of-30 for 292 yards and no interceptions, also connecting with Ja'Marr Chase and Drew Sample for scores, while Samaje Perine punched in a short touchdown run to put the game away. Former Raven Joe Flacco even mopped up the final snaps in relief of Burrow.
Baltimore has outscored opponents by 65 points in the first half this season — and been outscored by 70 points after halftime, per the AP's recap of the game.
The loss piles more pressure on a Ravens team that entered the year with Super Bowl aspirations and now sits a game back in the AFC North without a clear timetable for Jackson's return. Baltimore also lost rookie guard Vega Ioane to a knee injury in the first half, while Cincinnati had its own bumps and bruises, with safety Kyle Dugger (quad) and cornerback DJ Turner II (knee) both banged up.
Cincinnati hosts Tennessee next Sunday looking to build on the win, while Baltimore travels to Buffalo still waiting on word of when — or if — Jackson will be back under center.