Baltimore vs. Cincinnati
Lamar Jackson Stymies Bengals as Ravens Win 23-17 to Open Up 2-Game Lead in AFC North
Lamar Jackson made NFL history in the Baltimore Ravens' 23-17 victory over the winless Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Jackson's 236 yards through the air and 152 on the ground made him the first player in NFL history to throw for over 200 yards and rush for over 150 in the same game. He was also just 21 yards shy of Michael Vick's single-game rushing record by a quarterback of 173 yards.
Jackson did it all on Sunday and was the talk of the town after the game at M&T Bank Stadium.
"To his credit, [Jackson] is about winning the game. And really, the point is, that's what it took to win the game," head coach John Harbaugh said in his postgame news conference. "We needed him to run the ball like that to win the game. Setting records and things like that, it's not really what you think about now, but some day it'll mean something to him. I'm proud of him."
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"You can't cover everybody and keep a spy on him at all times," outside linebacker Matthew Judon remarked. "I'm just so glad—I've been saying this since we got him—I'm glad I don't have to face him."
"He is the man," running back Mark Ingram II said. "He is special…he is only going to continue to improve. He is only going to continue to get better. And that's us. That is our offense. Sometimes, we will have big days; sometimes, he will go for 150."
The Ravens (4-2) are now two games ahead of both Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the suddenly average AFC North. The Bengals (0-6) only lost by six, but it felt like they were on their heels for nearly the entire game, which they were thanks to Jackson's dynamic play.
"The most frustrating thing for the defense is [that] you got the play covered—and he just finds space," Bengals first-year head coach Zac Taylor said. "He's an elite athlete…one of the rarest I've ever seen in person. Just one little crease and he's got 30 yards on you."
On offense, Jackson rushed for a touchdown but did not pass for one, nor did he throw an interception. Ingram had 52 yards rushing and a score, and Mark Andrews is continuing his impressive season by leading the team with 99 receiving yards, but he did lose a fumble.
Jackson said that he's comfortable running when he feels its necessary to win, and he had that sense going into today since a conversation with offensive coordinator Greg Roman earlier in the week, citing a 93-yard touchdown run that Arizona's Kyler Murray broke off on the Bengals defense last Sunday.
"We watched a lot of film on them, and they gave us the looks, and we got out there, and it was the same result," said Jackson, who also rushed for over 100 yards against Cincinnati in his first NFL start last season. "I just had to take advantage of it and move the ball."
Besides Cincinnati returning the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, they failed to get an offensive touchdown until 1:28 left in the game. Baltimore also limited the Bengals' chances on offense by dominating the time of possession, holding on to the ball for 39:42 compared to Cincinnati's 20:18.
In a positive special teams note for the Ravens, place kicker Justin Tucker became the fastest kicker in NFL history to reach 1,000 points. He's now a perfect 13-13 in field goal attempts this season after going 3-3 today and nailing both extra points. His field-goal accuracy rate remains at over 90%, making him the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
GAME RECAP
Brandon Wilson's 92-yard kickoff return to start the game was just the 11th time the Ravens allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown in their history and the first one in just over eight years.
It didn't take the Ravens long to respond, as it took Jackson and company just six plays to go 75 yards for the tying score, capped by a 21-yard QB keeper for Jackson.
After a three-and-out by Cincinnati, the Ravens were a bit more methodical in driving down the field, taking six minutes and 11 plays to go 66 yards for the go-ahead score when Ingram rushed in from a yard out to put Baltimore on top 14-7.
The Bengals continued to stall on defense, and the Ravens enjoyed a part of another drive before the first quarter ended, giving Baltimore a yards advantage of 212-6 after the first 15 minutes. Tucker booted a 40-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter to make the score 17-7. Randy Bullock added a short field goal for Cincy just before halftime to make the score 17-10 going into the locker room.
Both defenses settled in for the third quarter, as the only scoring was a 49-yard bank shot by Tucker with seven seconds remaining to extend the Ravens lead to 20-10.
The drive of the game, however, occurred in the fourth quarter when, after a Bengals three-and-out, Baltimore took 18 plays to go from their own 15 to the Cincinnati 2, eating up 9:43 of game clock and ending with a chip-shot field goal by Tucker to make it 23-10 with 3:49 remaining.
The Bengals finally broke through on offense with a two-yard touchdown run by quarterback Andy Dalton with 1:34 remaining, but they were unsuccessful in the onside kick attempt, and the Ravens ran out the clock to preserve the 23-17 win.
UP NEXT
Jackson faces Russell Westbrook for the first time when the Ravens travel to Seattle to take on the 5-1 Seahawks, who escaped with a 32-28 win at Cleveland today to help Baltimore out in the standings. This will be the teams' first meeting out west since 2011.
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