» The consensus in the Bengals locker room was that the catch by tight end Jermaine Gresham that went for a nine-yard touchdown but was later overturned on review, should have remained a touchdown.
"I was told because he went to the ground, once he had the ball that he had to maintain it through the catch," said head coach Marvin Lewis. "But he broke the plane with the ball outside the end zone and then crossed the end zone with the ball and possession, so I would think it would be a touchdown. But obviously (referee) Ron (Winter) called what he called."
Gresham also thought he scored.
"I should have caught it the first time," he said. "Make it that simple. I should have caught it the first time (but) I thought I was in. I thought I had my two feet established."
Winter told the media: "When the receiver went to the ground, he had the ball in his right hand. The ball touched the ground and his hand came off the ball."
» The game was decided on the last three snaps after wide receiver Jerome Simpson's 43-yard catch gave the Bengals a first and goal at the Ravens 7-yard line with 50 seconds remaining. On the last three plays, the Ravens prevented the Bengals from getting off a pass due to their pressure on Dalton. On fourth-and-goal from the Ravens 17, Dalton was sacked with 33 seconds left by Pernell McPhee moving past the outside of Andrew Whitworth. That came after Dalton was called for intentional grounding with linebacker Terrell Suggs hugging him after he fought past the block of running back Brian Leonard.
"It was a cadence issue that we were all messed up on what the count was," Whitworth said of the sack on the last snap. "We just didn't hear. We were trying to communicate it to the outside. We just didn't get it done."
» Whitworth was disappointed the Bengals didn't put the hammer down when they took a 7-0 lead on the second series of the game.
"It's frustrating when it comes down to the end, to be honest with you," Whitworth said. "This is a better team than we showed today."
» Simpson had a career-high 152 yards receiving on eight receptions. It was the most receiving yards in a game for a Bengals receiver since Terrell Owens had 222 last Oct. 3 in Cleveland.
» The Bengals had 483 total yards, the most they have had in any game since Sept. 16, 2007 at Cleveland (531 yards). It was also the most yards allowed by the Ravens since Dec. 13 of last season at Houston (489).
» It was the first time all season the Bengals lost the field position battle, and that disappointed Lewis. The average drive start for the Ravens was their 31-yard line while the average drive start for the Bengals was their own 23.
"We have to play smarter," Lewis said.
» A.J. Green said after the game that we isn't sure whether or not he will play next week against Cleveland.
"Maybe or maybe not," Green said. He did not even work out prior to Sunday's game against the Ravens.
» Dalton on the struggles of the offense on the last three snaps:
"It wasn't necessarily the noise. It was a little miscommunication on some things, but we've got to make a play."
» Domata Peko on next week's game against the Browns:
"We have to take out our anger on them. We can't keep waiting until the fourth quarter to try and win the game."
» Despite the loss, the Bengals remain just a game out of the lead in the AFC North behind Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which are both 7-3.
"It's not like this is the end of the season; we're still in it," Dalton said.
Added safety Chris Crocker: "We're not in a race. We're just trying to win one game."
» Both cornerback Adam Jones and left end Carlos Dunlap, who missed last week's game with groin and hamstring problems, respectively, said they weren't 100 percent.
Dunlap, who leads the Bengals in QB hurries, had just one Sunday, and no sacks.
"You can tell the way I played I wasn't 100 percent," he said.
» Lewis thought Dalton made good decisions, except for the pick at the end of the half that he launched into the end zone with 19 seconds left for wide receiver Andre Caldwell that got intercepted by safety Ed Reed and prevented a field goal try.
"Give me a chance to make a decision of what to do. Don't force my hand and let them kneel on it. That's the only thing. I think, otherwise he shows a lot of poise and he does a lot. They made a nice play and intercepted the ball on the outside, and we can't have that," Lewis said.
