Baltimore Ravens beat Bengals: The good, bad and the ugly

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BALTIMORE, MD – NOVEMBER 18: Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick #27 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts after a play in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

The Bad:

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The Ravens defense has been a bit of everything this season. This game was kind of the entire season in a nutshell. They started off great. They struggled a bit. They rebounded and looked as good as ever. Then the defense gave up two third quarter touchdowns that put the Ravens in a position where they had to comeback. With all the good things the Ravens did, this game was too close for comfort. The Ravens defense gave up a couple of quick strike drives that flipped the momentum towards the Bengals.

While the defense ultimately came up with the stops that helped win the game, it wasn’t a flashy game for the unit. The turnover drought continued. They only sacked Andy Dalton once. There weren’t a lot of big plays on the defense. This was a game of turning points. It wasn’t a game of flat out domination. The Bengals have struggled in recent weeks and they were without A.J. Green in this game. Baltimore won, but it could have been by a better margin.

Lamar Jackson made a crucial mistake in this game. He threw an interception on a play he’ll want back when he goes over the tape. Jackson dodged a couple Bengals defenders and threw a hopeless pass into a tight window, on the run. In a game where Jackson gave the fanbase a lot to rave about, this was a terrible play. Jackson’s mechanics left a little to be desired in this game. On one occasion he forced a side armed pass and the football dinged off of the helmet of Alex Lewis. The fundamentals of the position still have to be cleaned up a bit.

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