BALTIMORE − The Cincinnati Bengals' reinforced their collective identity against the Baltimore Ravens.
The 2026 Bengals, complete with a defense revamped in offseason free agency and a potent offense when guided by quarterback Joe Burrow, have so far lived up to being the contending team they were expected to be. The strongest evidence of the team matching preseason expectations came from the Oct. 25 win at M&T Bank Stadium against Baltimore.
After being dominated in the first half by the Ravens and being fortunate to only be down 13-0, Cincinnati scored five unanswered touchdowns in a 35-13 win.
As part of that turnaround, the Cincinnati defense got stops and a turnover. Punter Ryan Rehkow was pinning the Ravens deep in their own territory as four
of 4 of 6 punts landed inside Baltimore's 20-yard line. And Burrow threw for four touchdowns while the offensive line cleared a path for one rushing score.
That performance, Burrow indicated, was the personification of the team's identity.
"We know who we are," Burrow said. "We know who we have to be, and we let our big-time players go and make big-time plays. That's what the NFL is all about. You can do all these different things, but at the end of the day, you just got to go make plays, got to execute what's called, and that's what we did."
After running just 19 offensive plays in the first half, what was called in the second half produced 16-for-18 passing by Burrow for 249 yards. Four different players caught touchdown passes, and wide receiver Tee Higgins finished with a game-high 148 yards after not making a catch in the sluggish first half.
Defensively, second-year linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. intercepted a pass that led to a Burrow touchdown pass.
Rookie linebacker Cashius Howell earned the first sack of his career. It came on a Ravens third down in the third quarter and forced a punt. Cincinnati would take the lead on its ensuing drive and not look back.
Both Knight and Howell came to the Bengals as high draft picks in back-to-back years.
Cincinnati's proven defensive commodities paid off, too. Dexter Lawrence II earned a sack, as did Boye Mafe.
All of those performances came in a must-win AFC North road game, and on a day when division rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland both won to stay tied atop to the division.
The first half of the Bengals-Ravens game was hard to explain from a Cincinnati point of view. Once the Bengals found their footing, they showed what was possible in 2026.
"That's who we have to be," Burrow said. "We have too many great players on offense to be conservative in that spot."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'That's who we have to be.' Bengals show promise in comeback win vs. Ravens
