Ravens Lose Grip On Division Lead; Fall to Cincinnati Bengals
By Samuel Njoku
The Ravens had a great opportunity to take control of the AFC North when they went up against the Cincinnati Bengals. Instead they fell in a tightly contested affair that would find all four teams of the division separated by half a game. Now, onto the grades:
Offense Grade: C
The Ravens offense could do no wrong the past two weeks. Against the Bengals, they could do no right. The receivers were manhandled by the Bengals secondary and found it difficult to hang on to passes thrown their direction. The passes were by no means perfect, but if the ball hits your hands, you have to catch it. In contrast, the Ravens running game did a great job against a stout Bengals front 7. Justin Forsett continues to be one of the biggest surprises in the NFL averaging 4 yards per carry. Lorenzo Taliaferro put the offense on his back as he rumbled for two touchdowns to keep the game close.
Bernard Pierce was a healthy scratch and with the way Forsett and Taliaferro performed, it’s easy to see why.
Defense Grade: D+
Simply put, the Ravens defense was bad – really bad. To be completely fair, most of that criticism should fall on the secondary. When the game started, Baltimore did an ok job of keeping up with the Bengals receivers. But after Jimmy Smith left the game with a foot sprain, the play of the Ravens secondary went from good to abysmal. Cornerbacks played over 10 yards away from opposing receivers and were still getting beat deep down the field. Andy Dalton took advantage of the Ravens soft coverage with passes on comeback routes that often left receivers nearly uncovered.
What Baltimore lacked in pass defense, they tried to make up for with a relentless play from their defensive front. Brandon Williams and Haloti Ngata disrupted plays all day long and the Ravens did a decent job of getting pressure on the quarterback. Besides the QB sneak that gave the Bengals the go-ahead touchdown, Cincinnati really struggled to get push at the line of scrimmage.
Quarterback Grade: D-
He didn’t throw 5 interceptions, but he really could have. Joe Flacco struggled against the Bengals defense. Other teams will look at this game as a blue print on how to attack Flacco and this Ravens offense. It begins with being aggressive with the receiving corps and forcing Flacco to make quick decisions. What the Bengals have learned is that if you get enough pressure on Flacco, his decision making can be quite poor. One play in particular had Flacco step up in the pocket on a 3rd and short play. He opted to test the Bengals defense instead of running for an easy few yards to move the chains. Of course, the pass was incomplete and Baltimore was forced to punt. Simple decisions like this can be the difference between winning and losing. Flacco’s decision making will need to improve against a very confident Steelers unit next week.
Special Teams Grade: B
Ravens made the wise decision to move Michael Campanaro to return punts. Jacoby Jones is still having problems holding onto the ball. He’s played poorly this season. Justin Tucker is still playing great football. He’s one of the best kickers in the NFL.
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Samuel Njoku was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and is a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Samuel has covered the Ravens for Examiner.com since 2010. Prior to 2010, Samuel was an avid blogger and radio personality in Salisbury, MD. Samuel Njoku is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Ravens_Examiner.
