BALTIMORE _ Quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase offered two of the greatest performances in Bengals history Thursday night here at M&T Bank Stadium, but the Ravens overcame Burrow's 428 yards and Chase's three touchdowns when they held them on a two-point conversion with 38 seconds left in a 35-34 victory.
The Bengals have now lost to the two best teams in the AFC, the 7-3 Ravens and the undefeated Chiefs, by a total of five points in three games all decided on the last play or in the final play of the last 38 seconds.
"It's sickening," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor.
The Bengals had a 21-7 lead and the ball midway through the third quarter when running back Chase Brown lost a fumble inside the Bengals 30 and Baltimore went on to score four straight touchdowns.
"Every time you play them, it's a one-score game. Whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game," Taylor said. "That's what it came down to."
But not before the Herculean efforts of Burrow and Chase allowed the Bengals to get the ball with 1:49 left and crawl to within 35-34 when Burrow lofted his fourth touchdown pass of the night and ninth in four days on a five-yard floater that Chase caught in the right corner in a maze of two defensive backs for his NFL-leading tenth touchdown catch.
"A cloud," Chase said of the two-man coverage. "The safety had inside leverage, I had an outright like inside."
Taylor was aggressive all night against the NFL's No. 1 offense.
"We came here to win," Taylor said.
From going for it on fourth down four times while eschewing 57-yard and 52-yard field goals by Evan McPherson in the second half. So was Burrow, jacking deep incompletions on third-and-two to Chase and fourth-and-two to rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton with more than nine minutes left in a game the Bengals led, 21-20.
Burrow slightly overthrew both.
"I'd like to have both back," Burrow said. "I had Jermaine on a (go) route I like him on."
To going for two after a brilliant 70-yard drive in 1:11 featured another big play from the incomparable Chase, a 21-yarder on 264-yard night two yards shy of his Bengals record. He already came into the game as the only player in history with multiple 160-yard receiving games against the Ravens.
"We just know what they have on offense," Burrow said. "That was the mindset. To be aggressive."
Chase said he was open on the two-pointer ("I'm always open … Sometimes Joe doesn't see it.") and Burrow said with Chase on the back side he never got to him in his progression. With the edge rushers dropping, Burrow had holes at the goal line and went to his first read, tight end Tanner Hudson.
"I kind of sailed it," said Burrow, who was deadly much of the night despite taking 13 hits as he completed 34 of his 56 passes for a 108 passer rating that is his season average among the league leaders.
It's the second most attempts of his career and the most since the second game of his rookie year in 2020.
It appeared on the two-pointer that tight end Mike Gesicki got mauled in the hole opposite Hudson and defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike got his hand on Burrow's facemask.
"You are not getting those calls in that situation for the most part," Burrow said.
"They made one more play than we did and that kind of is the tale of the tape of this season," said center Ted Karras. "I think we left some things out there. Ultimately, we made some mistakes. They didn't."
TALE OF TWO Ds: The Bengals defense played its best ball of the season in the first half, holding the Ravens' No. 1 offense to 102 yards for their lowest output in a first half since 2022 and holding Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to 71 yards passing and seven points for a 14-7 halftime lead.
Slot cornerback Mike Hilton capped off the half and made Jackson storm to the locker room ripping off his helmet. His downhill tackle prevented wide receiver Diontae Johnson from going out of bounds and stopping the clock to allow kicker Justin Tucker try one of his bombs.
But the Ravens exploded for more than 300 yards in the second half with Jackson running and throwing like the reigning MVP he is. He had to be great to beat Burrow and he was. He didn't get sacked and got hit once. His glittering 141 passer rating and four touchdown passes included a back-breaking 84-yard touchdown pass that was the first career touchdown catch and first catch of the season for wide receiver Tylan Wallace as he eluded three tackles down the left sideline.
"That was probably the killer," Hilton said after the Bengals got the inside-the-10 punt from Ryan Rehkow they wanted. "He didn't do anything special. He made a play and we didn't."
Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who had two passes defenses and a tackle for loss, just missed a diving interception as the clock ticked under five minutes in a 28-28 game.
"Lamar scrambles. He makes a lot of plays. You have to plaster," Taylor-Britt said. "Especially (tight end) Mark Andrews coming back and playing like himself. He's the No. 1 guy. I just seen him and try to go make a play."
As well as he played, Taylor-Britt was also one of the guys that couldn't get down Wallace.
"Quick game. Have to line up and get tackles. You miss tackles, it's a touchdown," Taylor-Britt said. "Got to find a way to finish … We had to match the turnover battle."
CHASE AGAIN I: Chase stunned the Ravens yet again with another long catch-and-run touchdown. This one came on their first snap of the second half and it was pretty basic after Burrow had a vintage climb up the pocket. He stepped up and drilled it to Chase cutting across the middle from left to right. And no one touched him as he kept running to the right down the sideline and racing away from linebacker Trenton Simpson and safety Marcus Williams for a 67-yard touchdown that made it 21-7.
It was on the same field Chase ripped off the longest play of his career when he was a rookie in 2021, an 82-yard catch-and-run touchdown. It also came a month after Chase cashed a 70-yard screen for a touchdown against the Ravens at Paycor Stadium.
It was the 11th touchdown catch of his career that went at least 60 yards, most ever by a Bengal breaking the record of Ring of Honor member Isaac Curtis. It's also the most in the NFL since 2021. He also has the most from 40 (15) and 50 (11), and this one was his longest since a 33-yarder in New York on Oct. 13.
"They played a lot of coverages and I moved around a lot," Chase said. "There was a hole in the dagger (route over the middle)… and I attacked the ball."
CHASE AGAIN II: Chase and Burrow kept big striking. Barely had the Ravens taken a 28-21 lead on Jackson's 18-yard touchdown pass and his own two-pointer on an option dance with 5:50 left, they tied it 13 seconds later when Chase caught his second 70-yarder against the Ravens this year. This time it was lovely Burrow ball to the post against a quarters defense.
"The safety came down on my side. Once he goes down, I'm going to the post," Chase said.
Chase's 12th 60-yarder was also historic. He's now tied with Homer Jones for the most 60-yard touchdown catches.
We had some tight games this year. All close games," Chase said. "We just have to finds some type of way to finish."
