The Baltimore Ravens’ Thanksgiving night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals shocked the entire Baltimore fanbase. While the Bengals were 3-8 entering the matchup, it was not the fact that the Ravens lost to a seemingly inferior opponent. It was the manner in which they lost.
After a touchdown run by running back Derrick Henry on the team’s opening drive, things seemed poised to head in the right direction. However, after that, Baltimore caught a flat tire the rest of the way. The defense did its best, but on offense, they were outplayed by the worst defense in the NFL. Several turnovers put them at a significant disadvantage, and eventually, the defense gave way, and the Bengals put the contest out of reach.
Most of the blame for the loss should go to the players. Quarterback Lamar Jackson played possibly the worst game of his career, turning the ball over three times, and tight end Isaiah Likely and wide receiver Zay Flowers each had a fumble. Still, the coaching staff is not clear of blame, especially seeing how the offensive game plan developed throughout the night.
After dominating the first drive, Henry rarely saw the ball for the rest of the game. He toted the rock five times in the first quarter, and in the final three quarters, he ran just five more times. In typical fashion for Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken’s offense, the Ravens shied away from the run as soon as they went behind. Even explosive running back Keaton Mitchell, who looked incredible in Week 13, touched the ball four times, and only twice on the ground.
In their place, running back and primary special teamer Rasheen Ali saw the field plenty. Despite his lackluster play in 2025, Head Coach John Harbaugh remains obsessed with the 24-year-old.
Ravens snap counts in loss to Bengals: Ali leads all RBs in snaps with 29; Emery Jones plays 16 snaps in debut; Bateman second in WR snaps but held without a catch. Hamilton doesn’t miss snap on bum ankle. Lawson has an assisted tackle on 26 snaps in debut. pic.twitter.com/ctlarK3k8H
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) November 28, 2025
Ravens’ Rahseen Ali leads running backs in snaps in loss
Ali took the role of running back Justice Hill in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Ali did not necessarily play badly. He was fine. He turned in a 61.0 grade for his performance, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), including an 81.1 pass-blocking grade. The issue was the reliance on Ali on passing downs and how often the Ravens put themselves in those situations.
According to PFF, Ali played 29 snaps. 19 of those were passing plays, and four were pass-blocking reps. As a pass-blocker, he was effective. As a pass catcher, though, he did not log a single reception. In fact, Henry and Mitchell did far more damage through the air.
Henry had one reception for 44 yards, and in Mitchell’s case, he caught two of three targets for 12 yards. It was clear as day who the playmakers were going to be on Thursday, but as soon as Baltimore fell behind on the scoreboard, Monken got flustered. Instead of leaning on Henry and Mitchell, he relied on a passing attack that has now failed to account for a touchdown in three straight games.
To make it even odder, Ali has been a healthy scratch in two of the last four games. Again, he played the role of Hill this past week, but at least Hill has been a proven receiving option and has gashed defenses for consistently moderate gains across his career. Ali, on the other hand, remains unproven.
Knowing that, Harbaugh and Monken should have utilized Henry and Mitchell more, regardless of their play in pass protection. Even then, they should not have been needed in that role too often if the coaching staff let the rushing attack run as it should have. Instead, running backs had just 16 carries throughout the night, and excluding three garbage-time carries by Ali, that number drops to a baffling 13 carries.