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4 Encouraging Takeaways From the Bengals' 35-13 Comeback Win Over the Ravens
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- 4 Encouraging Takeaways From the Bengals' 35-13 Comeback Win Over the Ravens
Joe Burrow's four second-half touchdown passes will lead every highlight package out of Baltimore, and they should. But the Cincinnati Bengals don't win 35-13 on Sunday without a defense that spent the first half bending without breaking while the offense managed zero points.
Baltimore held the ball for 35 minutes and still scored just one touchdown, a 48-yard catch-and-run by Zay Flowers on the game's opening drive. Cincinnati moved to 4-2, handed the Ravens their second division loss and heads home for the Titans with a favorable schedule ahead . Here's what stood out.
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The red-zone defense saved the game in the first half
Oct 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Cuevas (85) runs the ball during the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
The Ravens went 0 for 3 in the red zone, and the first stand set the tone. On an 18-play drive in the second quarter, Derrick Henry was stopped for no gain on second-and-1 and again on third-and-1 at the Cincinnati 11. Kris Jenkins Jr., Myles Murphy and Bryan Cook made those stops, a false start followed, and Baltimore settled for a field goal.
The Ravens kicked another field goal from the 6 before halftime, then turned it over on downs at the Cincinnati 12 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Three trips inside the 20 produced six points. That's the difference between trailing 13-0 at the break and trailing 21-0.
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Cincinnati finally contained a power run game
Oct 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Barrett Carter (49) tips a pass intended for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
After Miami ran for more than 200 yards in Week 5, Zac Taylor warned that the run defense had to be better. We wrote that stopping the big run plays was the one fix the Bengals needed before Baltimore.
They delivered. Henry, who came in leading the NFL with 130 carries, finished with 45 yards on 17 attempts, and his longest run went for 9 yards. Baltimore ran 27 times for 83 yards as a team, and B.J. Hill stuffed Tyler Huntley on a fourth-and-1 run late in the fourth quarter.
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The pass rush is no longer a one-man show
Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) sacks Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 3 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. The Bengals fell to 2-1 on the season with a 30-27 loss on the road.
The Bengals sacked Huntley four times and hit him seven times, and four different players got home. Boye Mafe had 1.5 sacks, Dexter Lawrence II took Huntley down for a 7-yard loss on the drive that ended with that fourth-down stop, and Bryan Cook split a sack with Mafe in the fourth quarter. Rookie Cashius Howell, whose rise up the depth chart has been one of the stories of the fall, got his first career sack on a third-and-11 in the third quarter.
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Per the team's postgame notes , Cincinnati has multiple sacks in all six games and 20 on the season.
Tee Higgins is Burrow's most dangerous target right now
Oct 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) makes a catch defended by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins (2) during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
Higgins caught six passes for 148 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, with gains of 44 and 43 yards that flipped field position in the second half. He has 571 receiving yards through six games. Ja'Marr Chase, who scored from 2 yards out, has 351 and is still looking for his first 100-yard game of the season.
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Chase isn't going anywhere as the centerpiece, and there's an argument the Bengals may be using Chase wrong . But Higgins has earned a bigger share of the deep shots. "I'm just running the routes I'm told to run and Joe's giving me a chance and I make the play," Higgins said last week . Right now, he's making almost all of them.
This story was originally published by Athlon on Oct 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
