The NFL’s strangest dress rehearsal played out here Sunday without anyone knowing for certain that, yes, this would indeed be a preview of Paycor Stadium’s coming attractions. There were missing stars and underplayed scenes and dramatic moments throughout, the tension in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 27-16 win over the Ravens only building through the final whistle.
It was a loss the Ravens could feel good about, all things considered. But there were a lot of thorny things to consider as the regular season turned into the postseason and a third round of football between these AFC North rivals beckoned.
Without quarterback Lamar Jackson and a handful of starters on offense, the Ravens (10-7) had outgained the Bengals (12-4) by over 100 yards. Without cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Brandon Stephens, they’d kept in check an explosive Cincinnati offense. Without a great shot at improved playoff seeding, they’d competed from start to finish against maybe the AFC’s hottest team, ticking off a couple Bengals players along the way.
Defensive lineman Calais Campbell called it “playoff football,” even as the stakes of Sunday’s matinee remained relatively low. Next weekend, when the Ravens will, in fact, return to Cincinnati to face the reigning AFC champions in the wild-card round of the playoffs — that is when they have to win or else go home.
“Against a division opponent, this is kind of like a preview of what it’s going to be like next week,” Campbell said. “The chippiness — that’s division games. I think it was there the last couple weeks, too. That’s kind of how it goes. I respect them a lot; those guys are talented as can be, play with a lot of passion, play with a lot of heart everywhere. … They want it just as bad as we do; we want it as bad as you can want it. So it’s going to come down to who plays the best ball.”
The Ravens did not play their best ball Sunday. They also did not play their best players. Coach John Harbaugh on Friday called the Ravens’ regular-season finale part of a “two-game operation,” which on Sunday meant going without the team’s best receiver (tight end Mark Andrews), best running back (J.K. Dobbins), best interior lineman (right guard Kevin Zeitler) and best ball hawk (Peters) — all starters with recent injury histories who were undoubtedly helped by the day off.
No absences were more consequential than those at quarterback, though. Jackson, who’d led the Ravens to a Week 5 win over the Bengals in Baltimore, missed his fifth straight start with a knee injury. Backup Tyler Huntley, limited all week in practice by tendinitis in his right (throwing) shoulder, was inactive as well, perhaps a tacit acknowledgement that his services could be more urgently needed in the playoffs.
Undrafted rookie Anthony Brown, making his first career start, went 19-for-44 for 286 yards, threw two interceptions that led to two Cincinnati touchdowns, and lost a fumble in the end zone that the Bengals pounced on for another score.
But in finishing with one touchdown or less for their sixth straight game, the Ravens might’ve revealed more about their potential with Jackson than their limitations without him. Against a stingy Bengals defense, the Ravens finished with 386 yards of total offense, led by rookie tight end Isaiah Likely (eight catches for a career-high 103 yards) and a solid running game (110 yards, 4.1 per carry).
With Jackson at the controls, it would not have been hard to imagine more open running lanes, fewer dropped passes, more points, fewer third-and-long headaches. The trouble remains getting Jackson onto the field. Ravens teammates pleaded ignorance afterward when asked how close the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player might be to returning. They were more forthcoming about how important his return could be.
“Obviously, we want him back, but as far as defense, we’ve been like, ‘Whoever plays,’” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “I know Snoop [Huntley] is a good quarterback. A.B. is a good quarterback. Obviously, Lamar Jackson is one of one. So if you can have him back, that’d be great. If not, we’ll go with who we’ve got.”
Said right tackle Morgan Moses: “I try not to worry about it. Obviously, [Jackson’s] a hell of a player, and obviously, he’s a game-changer, but no matter what … we have 100 percent faith in that guy [at quarterback], and it’s our job as the offensive line to block for him and open up holes on Sunday or Monday or whatever day we play.”
However the biggest question of these NFL playoffs resolves itself, the Ravens will head back to Cincinnati with some swagger in their step. For a second straight meeting, their defense kept Burrow from performing his usual magic, holding the MVP contender to 5.1 yards per attempt three months after he managed only 6.2 yards per attempt.
The Bengals’ line, which had pushed around the Ravens in Week 5, carved out little running space for their running backs (2.8 yards per carry) and might’ve lost stalwart right guard Alex Cappa to an ankle injury only two weeks after a knee injury ended right tackle La’el Collins’ season. Burrow was sacked only twice — one of them a strip-sack by rookie outside linebacker David Ojabo — but was knocked off his spots often, forced to settle for check-downs that the Ravens cleaned up.
Even as the Ravens fell into a 17-0 hole early in the second quarter, they kept looking for ways out, kept reminding the Bengals that they were still there, needling them when necessary.
Rookie safety Kyle Hamilton body-slammed Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on a second-quarter tackle. Rookie center Tyler Linderbaum gave Cincinnati players some parting words during a minor skirmish just as halftime arrived. The Ravens’ sideline swarmed around Bengals guard Jackson Carman after he drove outside linebacker Tyus Bowser into their sideline late in the third quarter. There were thumping hits throughout.
“I feel like we proved a big point to them to show them that next week it’s not going to be the same outcome, definitely,” Likely said.
Asked about the chippiness, Humphrey recalled inside linebacker Roquan Smith’s postgame remarks: “We’re standing on business.” He added: “On the business side, they kind of had the day. But we’ll see them again next week and kind of let the chips fall where they fall.”
Ravens players couldn’t recall ever having to face the same team twice in two weeks, nor could they say how much either team was holding back strategically. Smith, who joined the Ravens via trade after their first meeting with Cincinnati, said the Bengals “did a lot of things they’ve done all season.” Bengals coach Zac Taylor, who had his full arsenal of offensive talent available, said afterward: “You don’t want to put it all out there.”
Such is the nature of a dress rehearsal. Sunday was about getting ready for the next weekend, when the playoff curtains would be drawn and the teams would have to hit their marks and prove they had the star power to put on a show worthy of the stage.
“It doesn’t matter what my feelings are or how I gauge it,” Harbaugh said when asked about playing the Bengals again. “What matters is how we come out and prepare for the playoff wild-card round. Our guys have earned that opportunity, and we’re looking forward to it.”
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