BALTIMORE – It looked like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase had it together Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
Throughout the primetime game against their AFC North rivals, Cincinnati’s star quarterback and wide receiver teamed up for plays when the Bengals needed them most, including a late touchdown which put Cincinnati in position for the game winner.
But the Bengals found themselves down a game in a 35-34 loss to the Ravens. A failed 2-point conversion with 38 seconds remaining spoiled stellar performances from both players.
Burrow finished with 428 yards and four touchdowns on 34-of-56 passing. Chase had one of the best performances of his career – 11 catches, three touchdowns and 264 receiving yards. The efforts, however, were not enough to prevent the Bengals from losing their second and final regular season game to the Ravens this season.
“They’re the best duo in the league right now, and they show it every week,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “We just feel like we have to hold up our part, and things could be a lot different. But it just hasn’t gone the way we wanted this season.”
The Bengals (4-6) led 21-7 midway through the third quarter when Baltimore (7-3) created a huge break to get back into the game. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey knocked the ball out of the hands of Bengals running back Chase Brown. The Ravens got the ball back then went on a 21-0 run to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
But Burrow and Chase did just about everything to keep the Bengals in contention. One play after the Ravens took the lead, Burrow immediately responded with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Chase that tied the score at 28.
When the Ravens regained the lead with 1:49 left and Cincinnati needed a touchdown, Burrow leaned on Chase. At one point, Chase tied his career-high of 266 receiving yards set in 2021. However, a defensive penalty accepted by Cincinnati negated the play.
A few snaps later, Burrow found Chase for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the final minute. Cincinnati’s 2-point attempt for the potential game-winning points failed when a Burrow pass to tight end Tanner Hudson peaked. Burrow had no qualms about making the decision to go for it.
“We knew what situation we were in,” Burrow said.
As for Burrow and Chase, who have played together for six of the last seven seasons since their college days at LSU, they had one of their best performances together. Chase deferred to reporters when asked if Thursday night topped that list.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Burrow and Chase had “incredible” performances.
“I thought Ja’Marr took a giant step forward,” Taylor said. “Every time we found ways to get him the ball, I thought Joe did a great job. And Ja’Marr finished a lot of those plays for us. I thought they played excellent.”
But what happened Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium was a microcosm of the season.
Entering Week 10, Burrow and Chase had enjoyed two of the best seasons of their respective careers. Burrow finished second in Total QBR, behind only Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who finished the game with 290 passing yards and four touchdowns. Chase finished second in the league in receiving yards behind Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, their former teammate at LSU.
So the fact that the Bengals were still under .500 after 10 games was confusing to Chase.
“That’s crazy to say that,” Chase said. “I would never expect in a million years that I would play this well and he played this well and we still have a record like this.”
On top of that, Cincinnati also hosted the NFL’s sacks leader, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, on Thursday night. This added to the frustration.
“If you look at how we play and if you look at Trey Hendrickson, how he plays, yeah, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” Burrow said after the game. “But we had our opportunities.
“Obviously it’s tough when you feel like you’re playing well enough to win and you’re not. But there’s always more to do.”
