BALTIMORE – After turning in their worst first half of football this season on offense and defense, the Cincinnati Bengals put together a promising second-half effort and beat the Baltimore Ravens 35-13 at M&T Bank Stadium.
It was the definition of a tale of two halves for the Bengals. Down 13-0 after two quarters, quarterback Joe Burrow carried the Bengals to a comeback victory, leading the team to five touchdowns in the second half..
Burrow was nearly perfect in the second half, completing 16 of 18 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns. That's after he was 6-of-12 for just 43 yards in the first half. He finished 22-of-30 for 292 yards.
Backup Joe Flacco, who led Baltimore to a Super Bowl championship, came in at the 4:39 mark of the fourth
quarter to finish up at quarterback for Cincinnati.
The Bengals improve to 4-2, and more importantly 1-1 in the AFC North.
Coming off a bye week, the Bengals had extra days to prepare for Baltimore and entered the game with a significant advantage from a health standpoint. The Ravens were without quarterback Lamar Jackson and several of their starting offensive linemen. Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley started for the Ravens in place of Jackson.
It’s why the Bengals' performance in the first half was so shocking and concerning. Cincinnati allowed Baltimore to convert 8 of 11 third downs (73 percent) and allowed 258 yards of total offense in the first half.
Conversely, the Bengals’ offense was limited to 59 yards and was shut out in the first half.
But the Bengals did what they do best in Baltimore – lean on their star players. Wide receivers Tee Higgins continues to put together his best season to date and turned in an impressive performance with six catches for 148 yards and a touchdown. Ja’Marr Chase’s touchdown in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for the Bengals. He had five receptions for 62 yards.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Joe Burrow shines in Bengals' comeback win over Ravens on the road
