After back-to-back division losses at home, the Ravens bounced back in a big way to get back up to .500 and keep their playoff hopes alive. A dominant 24-0 win left little to be desired.
The Good
Shutout: In their
own house, with their playoff lives on the line, the Bengals came out and delivered a big goose egg on the scoreboard. It’s the first time Joe Burrow has been shut out in his NFL career. It’s Baltimore’s first shutout performance since 2018, and it was an impressive performance. Three sacks, two interceptions, and they held the Bengals to under 5.0 yards per pass and 4.0 yards per rush, all while spending almost two-thirds of the game on the field. It might be the best game of Zach Orr’s career as a defensive coordinator, and it came in a huge game against an elite quarterback.
Lamar Jackson: Lamar Jackson looked like himself in this one. After a rough first quarter, the Ravens went on three consecutive scoring drives and only punted once for the rest of the game. With a strong run game, Jackson only threw 12 passes, but he completed eight of them for 150 yards (12.5 yards/attempt) and two touchdowns. His only turnover was an interception off the hands of Zay Flowers, who also dropped a tough but catchable touchdown as well. Jackson also scrambled twice for 26 yards and looked good doing so. He made what might have been his best throw of the season to hit Flowers for a touchdown right before half, dropping it between defenders, right in the bread basket down the sideline. It was a low workload but very efficient day for Jackson, the formula for the Ravens to keep winning in 2025.
The entire backfield
- Derrick Henry: Henry’s 11 carries seem like a low number, but on a day when the Ravens only ran 41 offensive plays, it was more than 25% of the offense’s plays. Even better, only needed those 11 carries to get yet another 100-yard rushing day on his resume. At one point, Henry rattled off back-to-back 20-plus yard carries to put the Bengals on their heels. The big man is still capable of rumbling despite the slow offensive year for the whole team. The Ravens can continue to lean on him.
- Keaton Mitchell: of the new three-headed monster in the Ravens’ backfield, Mitchell had a quieter day but still 8.3 yards a carry on just eight attempts. With the offense’s struggles the last couple of weeks, they continue to lean more and more on Mitchell’s unique explosive ability, who looks fresh and fine after a quick injury scare last game.
- Rasheen Ali: The last part of the backfield, Ali’s workload has gotten bigger and bigger each week since Hill’s injury. He cemented his spot in the rotation on Sunday with a massive 30-yard catch and run up the sideline, where he showed impressive burst and speed to reach pay dirt. He didn’t receive any carries, which is fine when you’ve got Henry and Mitchell ahead of you. But Ali has shown himself to be reliable in the pass game with steady blocking and reliable hands.
- RBs coach Willie Taggart: Taggart was praised for Henry’s dominant 2024 season as well as the complementary contributions of Justice Hill, but this year has not gone as smoothly. Henry’s fumbles and Hill’s lack of impact play were part of the Ravens’ early-season struggles, but the backfield has bounced back. Despite an inconsistent offensive line, Henry and Keaton Mitchell have added consistent explosiveness and Ali has emerged as a solid contributor on passing downs. Taggert deserves some credit, especially considering that defenses are less afraid of Jackson’s legs.
Zay Flowers: Flowers had two big drops, one that bounced off his hands for an interception and another that could have been a touchdown. But considering the weather and the total number of drops by both teams, we’ll call it even with how he made up for it: three catches for 68 yards and a touchdown, including a really impressive adjustment catch that the refs had to review and upheld. Flowers’ up and down 2025 could be a result of a poor offensive season all around, but he’s still a clear-cut #1 receiver on this team.
Kyle Van Noy/Alohi Gilman/Ed Reed: It just so happens that the week that Ed Reed comes to visit the team at The Castle during practice, the Ravens defense pulls their own Ed Reed move. The Bengals were in the red zone before Van Noy’s interception and handoff to Gilman for the return. Gilman took it for a touchdown for essentially a 10- or 14-point swing. It sealed both the win and the shutout for the Ravens in an impressive performance. Reed himself is likely impressed at Van Noy’s drop into coverage, snagging the interception before pulling the bold move to give a smooth handoff to Gilman, who ran the rest of the length of the field to finish the 84-yard pick-six. It’s the play of the season for the Ravens and a contender for play of the year in the league.
Pass rush: After rarely getting to Joe Burrow on Thanksgiving, the pass rush came out fired up for this one. They were in Burrow’s face all day with three sacks and 10 quarterback hits that forced him into multiple mistakes, including the red zone pick-six. Both Dre’Mont Jones, who had five quarterback hits, and Travis Jones, who had a sack, were particularly impressive, collapsing pockets and making Burrow uncomfortable. Tavius Robinson was also fired up in his return to the field with a 15-yard sack that knocked the Bengals out of field goal range. Rookie Mike Green tallied the last sack, but there was a group effort from the rest of the defense, like Van Noy and Kyle Hamilton, during the game.
The Bad
Time of possession: It’s been a season-long issue. The Ravens once again lost the time of possession battle, with the Bengals nearly doubling their time of possession. It didn’t end up mattering and makes the shutout performance by the defense that much more impressive. But it isn’t sustainable and makes no sense when the Ravens should have one of the best run games in the league that can drain the clock and keep their defense fresh. They can’t hope to win playoff games while their defense is on the field for 40 minutes and playing 80 snaps a game. The sequencing on offense has to be better, and the offense needs to sustain drives better.
The Ugly
Teddye Buchanan’s injury: For as good as this game was, a return to looking like a contender, it came at a cost. The Ravens’ impressive fourth-round rookie left the game after sustaining a non-contact injury during punt coverage. The initial fear is that Buchanan has torn his ACL, which would be the end of his season. He’s currently second on the team in tackles and played a high snap count each game, before, during, and after Roquan Smith’s injury. It’s a sad ending to a great rookie year for Buchanan. The Ravens will have to look toward Trenton Simpson and and hope UDFA Jay Higgins can come back to fill
