BALTIMORE – Another tight game, another loss for the Cincinnati Bengals. It's a frustrating pattern that has put the struggling team in danger of missing the playoffs despite the outstanding play of Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.
For the second time in two games against the division rival Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals blew a big lead Thursday night and lost 35-34. Cincinnati was on the cusp of reaching .500 following an 0-3 start, but those hopes vanished as quickly as its 14-point lead in the third quarter.
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In their previous game against Baltimore last month, the Bengals (4-6) frittered away a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before losing 41-38 in overtime.
In this one, Cincinnati led 21-7 before running back Chase Brown had the ball stripped and lost a fumble that Baltimore recovered at the Cincy 31. Five plays later, the Ravens (7-3) scored a touchdown to ignite their comeback.
“We gave them seven points right there with the fumble,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “It kind of went back and forth from there.”
And when the teams got done trading touchdowns, the Ravens were one point better after Cincinnati failed on a 2-point conversion with 38 seconds remaining.
Burrow went 34 for 56 for 428 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Chase, who racked up a whopping 264 yards receiving on 11 catches and scored on plays of 67, 70 and 5 yards.
In two games against Baltimore, Burrow has thrown for 820 yards and nine TDs. Chase has amassed 457 yards and five touchdowns.
And incredibly, Cincinnati went 0-2 against its AFC North foe. Burrow and Chase have been magnificent this season, yet their haughty numbers are overshadowed these two digits: 4 and 6.
“It’s crazy,” Chase said. “I would never in a million years expect me to play this well and he play this well and still have the record like this.”
Cincinnati's inability to make a lead stand up is painfully obvious. The Bengals fell to Kansas City on a last-second field goal; lost to Washington despite getting 324 yards passing and three touchdowns from Burrow; and lost to Philadelphia when the Eagles scored the game's final 20 points.
Worst of all: the twin collapses against Baltimore.
“It’s sickening that this has happened twice to us,” Taylor said. “We got to find a way to close out these games.”
Chase has a knack for getting open against the Ravens, and Burrow usually gets him the ball. But with the outcome hanging in the balance, Burrow's throw on the 2-point conversion whistled past the lesser known Tanner Hudson.
Asked if he was open on the play, Chase replied, “Yeah, I'm always open.”
Chase proved to be a reliable target with the Bengals forced to play without injured wide receiver Tee Higgins. But Cincinnati was virtually defenseless against Lamar Jackson and his talented band of receivers.
“It sucks losing to those guys,” Chase said. “But if we keep playing and win, we’ll be where we want to be.”
The Bengals have very little margin for error with only seven games to go. Can this team rebound and make the playoffs?
Chase believes so.
“Yeah, I do. One hundred percent,” he said. “We showed it tonight, what we can do.”
And what they can't do, which is make a lead stand up.
“We just got to figure out a way to make that last play to win,” Taylor said.
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