Ravens beat Bengals: Observations from section 541

I had the fortune of going to the Baltimore Ravens game against the Cincinnati Bengals. I had a great seat in section 541 with a perfect view in the middle of the end zone. Here are my observations:

The start of the game was a shock. Justin Tucker kicked the ball and like that the Bengals were up a touchdown. The Ravens actually controlled most of the first half. Time of possession was heavily in the favor of Baltimore. The Ravens scored two first quarter touchdowns.

The most positive surprise of the game was Miles Boykin chipping in for the offense. Boykin had two receptions for 28 yards. He caught a slant route in the red zone where he beat man to man coverage beautifully. Mark Andrews got things going with five receptions for 90 yards. If it were not for a poor hurdling choice, this game could have been easier, earlier. The hurdling has to stop especially for a player who was listed as questionable with a banged up shoulder.

Defensively the Ravens had some positives and negatives. Marlon Humphrey got his second interception of the season, but it’s Josh Bynes who deserves the credit. Bynes almost got the pick himself. Bynes has improved the pass defense dramatically from the linebacker spot.

The second half was pretty good for the Ravens. They controlled the action and the final score was a little misleading. The Ravens ran out an insane amount of clock especially in a lengthy fourth quarter drive. They took more than nine minutes out of the game. That’s how you put a game away, at least offensively. The clock became the enemy of the Bengals and the officials kept their last minute drive alive. It ended up being late game dramatics for nothing and the Ravens won.

The offense was incredibly balanced in this game. They got 228 yards through the air and 269 yards on the ground. Lamar Jackson broke an NFL record.  He was the only quarterback to have 200 yards passing and 150 yards rushing in the same game.

Jackson was incredible today. He was efficient in the passing game and he did some amazing things with his running ability. There were a couple misfires however it may have been his best moment of the season. This is the Jackson that the Ravens need to see all year long. He put up 388 yards of total production. Jackson is so fun to watch.

The Bengals had three second half possessions. The first two ended in punts. The last one ended in the end zone. The defense only gave up 10 points in this game. If it weren’t for a special teams blunder, and a Mark Andrews fumble this wouldn’t have even been a game. The Ravens controlled this game from their first offensive possession until the last two minutes of the game.

The Ravens put up 247 more yards than the Bengals. They controlled the football for about 19 more minutes and converted on 60 percent of their third downs. The Bengals saw their running game get completely shut down and Dalton had a less than healthy completion percentage. Baltimore dominated the game but the scoreboard doesn’t show it. This was an encouraging day in M&T Bank Stadium.