Ravens Game Recap/Analysis

[Phatcat]

The way we fought in this game – I don’t worry about that at all. I thought this was a game where we showed the type of attitude these guys have and play with because they could have put their tails between their legs, ducked their heads and checked out of it. But they didn’t do that. They just kept playing. We scored on the very last play of the ball game. They just kept playing. The defense was on the short field quite a bit today, and they kept going out there and playing and didn’t flinch. And that’s what we have to do.

 

 

This a good point by Marvin and is reason to not lose faith in this team.

[Bengals1181]

BALTIMORE — Now it's a race.

The Bengals had a chance to send the Super Bowl champion Ravens and their struggling offense circa 2000 packing into the offseason Sunday while taking unquestioned control of the AFC North.

But not even a miracle and one of the more miraculous efforts in defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's memorable six-year tenure that featured a patchwork front seven could bail the Bengals own struggling offense out of a 20-17 overtime loss that left the North staring at another November logjam. After losing 138 minutes of frantic come-from-behind football in 11 days, the Bengals had to remind themselves they still have the hammer at 6-4.

"I think we're still in first place; is that true?" asked defensive tackle Domata Peko. "We gave up two games in a row. It's all about next week."

The 4-5 tie between the Ravens and Browns gets tested next Sunday when the Bengals host Cleveland in a 1 p.m. mustering of what is now truly the Battle of Ohio.

"We let them down again," said Bengals wide receiver A. J. Green, the Miracle Man himself, of his defense. "They played great. They played great again and we continue to let them down. We've got to make this better."

Sure, the Ravens offense looks more like the 2000 edition that went five games without scoring a touchdown on the way to the Super Bowl title than the sharp big-play unit that won it all last season. But without cornerbackLeon Hall, tackle Geno Atkins and middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, the Bengals held Baltimore to just 189 yards, the fewest they've allowed in four years going back to the 169 allowed to the Browns on Nov. 29, 2009.

 

With Zimmer using a bevy of players to replace Atkins's Pro Bowl pass rush up the middle (second-year tackleBrandon Thompson, left endCarlos Dunlap, right endWallace Gilberry, SAM linebackerJames Harrison), the Bengals went on the road to hold the Ravens on 13 of 16 third downs, forced Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco to turn it over three times with a miserly 60.0 passer rating, and sacked him five times.

 

It makes you scratch your head trying to figure how the Bengals lost until you go to the next column. The Bengals, who whiffed on 10 straight third downs at one point, suffered at least three turnovers for the fourth time this season, quarterback Andy Dalton threw three interceptions for the second straight week, they allowed five sacks and 10 knockdowns, and they didn't score a touchdown until running back Giovani Bernard added another clip to his rookie highlight reel on an 18-yard run off a screen pass with 8:22 left in the game.

"We really had our chances," said safety Chris Crocker. "We had chance upon chance upon chance."

Eleven days ago in Miami, the Bengals got beat on a walkoff safety with 6:38 left in overtime after erasing a 17-3 fourth-quarter deficit. On Sunday they saw their fourth straight road game end on the last play when Justin Tucker hit a 46-yard field goal with 4:59 left in OT as the Bengals scrambled back from a 17-0 halftime hole.

That's back-to-back losses consuming nearly 140 minutes and encompassing some of the grittiest comebacks in head coach Marvin Lewis's 11 seasons. But cornerback Terence Newman, whose pick set up the first touchdown, thinks his team's psyche is just fine.

"If you look at the score when we came out for halftime and what it was when we ended it, the mindset is pretty good," Newman said. "We fought back pretty well. We know what we have in front of us."

The epitome of the grit turned out to be the team's youngest player. Bernard, who turns 22 next week, went the whole way depsite missing most of the fourth quarter and overtime in Miami with a rib injury. He got the Bengals into OT that night wirh a reverse-the-field 35-yard TD. On Sunday when he tried to do the same thing on fourth-and-two from the Ravens 33 on a screen, he lost 11 yards and gave the Ravens great field position.

The emotional 11-day surge had the Bengals making sure of the standings because at the moment it may feel more like 4-6.

"We did have a great shot to kind of put the hammer down, but we still control our destiny," said center Kyle Cook. "We still play them again. We still have three division games left. Two at home. We'll be all right. This team is going to be OK. We're far from the end of the season."

Cook admitted he's been on some teams down 17-0 in one of the NFL's most hostile environments … well, they may not have had the resolve to stage Sunday's comeback.

"I think Marvin mentioned it just goes to show the toughness of this team," Cook said. "A weaker and lesser team would have quit. A lot of things have happened. Three overtime games this year? This team is fighting to the end. I think we'll learn from it and move ahead from it and it will make us a better team."

Peko, who saw his record in Baltimore drop to 2-6, took heart in the defeat.  

"To come back from 17-0, that shows guys aren't throwing in the towel and the kind of guys we've got on this team," he said.

No one has had a tougher 11 days than the head man. Lewis was still getting roasted for leaving too much time in regulation in Miami and then passing up a 57-yard field goal in overtime when he came out of the box Sunday and went for it on fourth-and-one from the Ravens 47 on his first series. When that attempt failed, the Ravens, a team that hadn't scored a touchdown in the first quarter since the opener, took two minutes to take advantage.

Of course, if the Bengals convert that fourth down and go on to get points, Lewis is hailed for being aggressive and putting the Ravens back on their heels instead of being criticized for letting Baltimore take control in its building.

"Then we kind of got sideways there for a second," Lewis said. "I thought in the second half, we came out of things and really played like the guys they are. We got the life to them and started doing the things we needed to do."

Crocker said the Bengals rebounded from that stop.

"Sometimes as a coach you go out on a limb. We've got to ride with him. We weren't saying that was a bad decision to go for it. We just didn't get it," Crocker said. "There will be times like that this season where we go for it and we do get it. It just happened today they made a play. The first half wasn't pretty. But as far as the second half, you can't play any better on defense."

No matter the era, no matter who is playing for middle linebacker or safety for the Ravens, one truth did hold up Sunday. The opposing team faces almost certain extinction in the din of M&T Bank if it falls behind by double-digits to the third-best pass defense in the league. The Bengals gave up all five of their sacks in the second half with rush linebacker Elvis Dumervil knifing over the left side for 2.5 of them. With Dalton throwing it 51 times and the Bengals running 31 times, the ravenous Ravens pass rush had plenty of chances.

"It gets hard on the tackles. We're trying to change the cadence up," Cook said. "It worked a little bit toward the end with two offsides. You get down by that much you know what you're in for. But we came back and gave Andy some time."

And as the Bengals left, that was the message: There is still time.

"We've got plenty of season left; six games," Cook said. "We can still write our own destiny."

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/AFC-North-a-race-again/27cf7883-21a2-4f1b-a7ca-790255516236

[Bengals1181]

BALTIMORE — Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green attacked the Bengals record book with vengeance Sunday when his touchdown catch of a 51-yard Hail Mary with no time left lifted the Bengals into a franchise-record third overtime game of the season and second in 11 days, the first time they've gone OT in back-to-back games in their 46th season.

Of course, the Bengals shared their hotel Saturday night with clergy attending the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in downtown Baltimore hours before the miracle.

The Bengals eventually lost to the Ravens, 20-17, at M&T Bank Stadium as Green finished with 151 yards to set the club record with five straight 100-yard games. But not before Green and quarterback Andy Dalton authored one of the most thrilling moments in Bengals history.

"My numbers are going to come regardless. The main thing is we keep winning," Green said. "This is a tough one today, but we keep fighting whether we're down 30 or 40."

Dalton began it all when he had the presence of mind to spike the ball on third down from his 49 after getting sacked for the fifth time in the second half. He then lofted a ball to about the two-yard line, where Marvin Joneswas locked in a crowd and couldn't do much but tip it in the air.

"You get to your spots," Jones said. "If A.J. had gone for the ball or gone somewhere else, it would have dropped. I  just tipped it in the air. That's all I could do. When I got up I saw him catch it and put his toes in.

Green, a Pro Bowl leaper, admitted he's usually the guy that's known to jump and catch a tipped ball, like he did earlier in the game on 42-yard gem between two Ravens. Instead, he played the tip in the right corner.

 

"I saw two guys jump," said Green, who noted they didn't need a third. "It was kind of underthrown and I was running past the ball because I had my head down digging."

 

And, of course, a former Bengal had to be involved. Ravens safety Jeromy Miles, plucked off waivers earlier this season after Miles spent the opener and the previous three seasons in Cincinnati, was on the field for the play even though he usually only plays special teams. but the 6-2 Miles is long and can jump. Safety James Ihedigbo got a hand on it, but he tipped to Green.

"Jeromy Miles, he’s the jumper. He’s tall, long. He’s supposed to jump up, tip the ball. My job’s to be back, almost in the back of the end zone," Ihedigbo said. "I saw the ball get caught in the wind, so I knew it was going to hit the end zone. I knew it was going to be short, so I moved up, bonehead move, I moved up a little bit. I just should have stayed back. It probably would have fell right in my lap. I saw it drifting, tried to slap it to the ground. It went up in the air; easy touchdown. I mean, things happen. I mean, my defense, guys had my back. They said ‘Hey, let’s keep playing. Let’s keep playing. We’ve just got to stop them and get them.' "

"It was luck. It fell into my hands," Green said of his first Hail Mary play on any level.

Maybe even more amazing than the result is that the Bengals have never practiced it.

"We don’t get to practice that live, but every chance you have to show that on tape when you see somebody get an opportunity and have an opportunity to run it, you talk about it," said head coach Marvin Lewis. "and make sure guys understand where they want to get to and then get in position to get the ball tipped up in the air where we can go and rebound it. I don’t know who ended up getting the tip, and they tipped it back right to A.J.

"That’s what you want to do. You want to go up strong, and hopefully, you have a chance to go up and contest the ball and get it batted up into the air, and we can come down with it on the rebound.”

PENALTY TOLL: Lewis looked like he could have used some help from the heavens in a first half the Bengals lost 114 yards on seven penalties.

"That was incredible. I have never seen a run of penalties so one-sided, and we were still 17-0 at half," Lewis said. "I just don’t know how they can be so lopsided all the time. It was six- or seven-to-one in the first half, and they were huge plays. At one time, I looked up and there were five penalties for 95 yards, and then we got one after that. Some of them were just in a bad run of it because we’re not that far off of it. Things happen, and we get a facemask when we’re rushing with a blitzer (safety Chris Crocker). So, some things, we can’t help.”

Lewis also wasn't happy that the refs waited so long over the ball on a fourth-and-one that Lewis decided to go for on the Ravens 47 on their first possession of the game.

"In hindsight I would have called a timeout," Lewis said.

Then would he have gone for it?

"We'll never know," he said. "Fourth and a half a yard I expect to make it."

He said the Bengals did rebound after "going sideways" for a stretch after the failed fourth-and-one.

SLANTS AND SCREENS

» Bengals WLB Vontaze Burfict disputed the flag that was thrown on him in the fourth quarter, saying when he hit quarterback Joe Flacco, he was still in-bounds. Burfict also said a Ravens coach pushed him on the sideline and he wants the league to look at it.

"The funny thing is, I was on their sideline, and I think it was the defensive coordinator, and he pushed me," Burfict said. "I was thinking, ‘Come on, man. You should have a little more class than that.’ And I will try to turn that into the league.”

Burfict had another big game with 12 tackles despite missing some snaps late in the fourth quarter to get checked for a concussion but was allowed to return. He had high praise for backup middle linebacker Vinnie Rey's career day of three sacks (the second, third and fourth of his career), his first NFL interception, and a team-high and career-high 13 tackles.

"He's (our) smartest linebacker. He helped me from my first day as a Cincinnati Bengal," Burfict said.

Rey tipped his hat to defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and linebackers coach Paul Guenther.

"The defensive line and Vontaze set it up for me because they had to pick them up and I was able to get there," Rey said.

» Center Kyle Cook said he thought the Bengals got that fourth-and-one "by two yards," but he says he needs to look at it on film.

» The theme of the postgame locker room was that the Bengals let the Ravens and Browns back in the AFC North race, but that they still have the upper hand.

"We're still in first, right?" Cook asked. "We can still write our own destiny."

» For the first time in his career Dalton threw three picks in two straight games and more than 50 passes. His passer rating of 52.2 was a season low and not that much worse than Flacco's 60.0. Two of the picks were overthrown into the wind but Dalton said he wasn't going to blame the wind. Tight end Tyler Eifert said Dalton told him the wind took one of his passes.

On Dalton's second-quarter pick he overthrew Eifert down the seam and it went straight to Ihedigbo. Ihedigbo's two picks were the first by the Ravens safeties this season.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Flacco both said the wind was a factor in the passing game.

"It was kind of easier to throw the ball into the wind," Flacco said. "The flea-flicker (into the wind), I could’ve gotten it out there more. I probably could’ve adjusted for (the wind). I just felt like I was a little bit behind him, so I had to get the ball out quick. Throwing with the wind, it was tough to throw the ball down the field just because that’s when the ball got caught up and went right or just went totally long. If you could keep the ball low into the wind, it was a little bit easier than throwing with it.”

» The Bengals needed ends Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson to come up big with the loss of Geno Atkinsand you'd have to say they did. Dunlap had two sacks and forced a late fumble recovered by James Harrisonwhile Johnson hit Flacco to force Rey's pick to go with seven tackles.

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/MT-Miracle-Not-all-prayers-answered/3436442e-af25-41dc-a219-959c015f376d

[Jeb]

The NFL can rest easy knowing the last game of our season means something so we won't be resting anyone.

[Bengals1181]

Taking a look at the snap break down for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Baltimore Ravens.

• With Jermaine Gresham out against the Baltimore Ravens, Tyler Eifert played every offensive snap on Sunday. Alex Smith added 31 snaps.
• For the most part, the Bengals played three-wide with A.J. Green (87), Mohamed Sanu (74), and Marvin Jones (61), having a majority of those snaps.
• Giovani Bernard (60) more than doubled the snaps for BenJarvus Green-Ellis (28).
• Carlos Dunlap (72) and Michael Johnson (68) were well above 90 percent of the team's defensive snaps.
• Safety Chris Crocker was the fifth defensive back on over 50 defensive defensive snaps.
• Dre Kirkpatrick played 16 snaps and J.K. Schaffer added 11.
• Vinnie Rey, playing for the injured Rey Maualuga and Michael Boley, played 71 defensive snaps with most of his special teams work remaining intact.

OFFENSE

 

QUARTERBACK

 

  Snaps Pct. Andy Dalton 89 100%

 

RUNNING BACK

 

  Snaps Pct. Giovani Bernard 60 67%

BenJarvus Green-Ellis 28 31%

Domata Peko 0 0%

Cedric Peerman 0 0%

 

TIGHT END

  Snaps Pct.

Jermaine Gresham DNP  

Tyler Eifert 89 100%

Alex Smith 31 35%

Orson Charles 3 3%

 

WIDE RECEIVER

  Snaps Pct.

A.J. Green 87 98%

Mohamed Sanu 74 83%

Marvin Jones 61 69%

Andrew Hawkins 6 7%

Brandon Tate 0 0%

Dane Sanzenbacher 5 6%

Ryan Whalen 0 0%

 

OFFENSIVE LINE

 

  Snaps Pct.

Kyle Cook 89 100%

Andre Smith 89 100%

Clint Boling 89 100%

Andrew Whitworth 89 100%

Kevin Zeitler 89 100%

Anthony Collins 1 1%

Mike Pollak 0 0%

 

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE END

  Snaps Pct.

Michael Johnson 68 92%

Carlos Dunlap 72 97%

Wallace Gilberry 27 36%

Margus Hunt 2 3%

 

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

  Snaps Pct.

Domata Peko 58 78%

Devon Still DNP  

Brandon Thompson 55 74%

 

LINEBACKER

  Snaps Pct.

Vontaze Burfict 66 89%

Rey Maualuga DNP  

James Harrison 25 34%

Vinnie Rey 71 96%

Jayson DiManche 2 3%

Michael Boley DNP  

J.K Schaffer 11 15%

 

CORNERBACK

  Snaps Pct.

Terence Newman 69 93%

Adam Jones 72 97%

Dre Kirkpatrick 16 22%

Brandon Ghee 2 3%

 

SAFETY

 

  Snaps Pct.

Reggie Nelson 72 97%

George Iloka 73 99%

Chris Crocker 53 72%

Shawn Williams 0 0%

 

 

http://www.cincyjungle.com/bengals-ravens-2013/2013/11/11/5091306/bengals-vs-ravens-bengals-snap-distribution

[SmoothD]

That personal foul call on Taz was unbelievably bullshit.  Is he just supposed to let Flacco prance down the sideline and let him step out whenever he feels like it?  NFL is so soft.  If a QB goes up the sideline, he is essentially a running back.  I know they wouldn't have thrown a flag if that was Ray Rice.

I thought the horse collar call on Carlos Dunlap was shitty also.

[Bengals1181]

this was the flag they picked up on the INT Jones had stolen. 

 

 

[Jeb]

Do you have a screen grab of the ref standing right there while Sanu's arm is held down around the 10 yard line?

[Bengals1181]

Do you have a screen grab of the ref standing right there while Sanu's arm is held down around the 10 yard line?

 

 

[coup000]

Wow, I got pissed and stopped watching after 17-0, apparently it was a good thing I did. You guys are telling me PI wasn't called on either of those plays and one actually resulted in an INT???!?!?!?!?!? I had enough of the refs and Dierdorf after a quarter and a half, apparently it got worse.

 

On the Sanu play he is even using his other hand to try to grab his free left arm/shoulder. That might be the most blatant PI I've ever seen.

[T-Dub]

The NFL can rest easy knowing the last game of our season means something so we won't be resting anyone.

 

 

Right, and if we had won the rest of the division is probably screwed, with Denver or KC just about guaranteed a wildcard and other contenders both playing better & looking at weaker schedules. Bad calls happen all the time but rarely do I feel like the refs should've been given the win.  

[Bengals1181]

Jake L ‏@Jake_NFL1h

Whit dinged with 3 sacks and 3 hurries but I wonder how quick some of those were.

[Bengals1181]

Jake L ‏@Jake_NFL1h

As I suspected, Flacco at his worst vs. blitz. Zimmer blitzed on 52% of passing plays, Flacco was 9/18 with both picks vs. blitz.

Jake L ‏@Jake_NFL1h

Bengals got pressure to Flacco on 42.8% of his dropbacks. He was 7/13 on those, but threw 2 picks and took 5 sacks.

Jake L ‏@Jake_NFL1h

Vinny Rey covered better than I thought. He was targeted 5 times and only allowed one positive catch, and cleaned up that interception.

[Bengals1181]

I find it very hard to believe he was only under pressure for 18 of his 51 passes.

 

 

Jake L ‏@Jake_NFL1h

Dalton was 4/12 under pressure. His passer rating under pressure was 7.6. He was also sacked 5 times and scrambled once under pressure.

[Bengals1181]

And during a quarterback sack in the second half, Carlos Dunlap was called for a horse-collar.

Not a good horse-collar in BAL - he actually pulled him down by the front of his jersey

— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) November 10, 2013

[Bengals1181]

[SnickyCat]

This was a horse-shit call. Flacco even makes an attempt to continue forward towards the first down marker a split-second before realizing Burfict was about to hit him. If this would've been a RB or WR then odds are the ref doesn't even consider throwing that flag.

[SouthPaw]

 

 

Pacman did the same thing on a pass play yesterday and it wasn't called.  The refs ARE NOT the reason they lost the game.  Some of the fellas on this site need to sack up and realize when this team loses its because they cant get out of their own way.  Every single loss, Cleveland aside, has been so eerily similar its remarkable.  Chance after chance after chance to take control of a ball game and they fail to do so.  If this team were standing over itself with a gun pointing down, they would have no fucking toes left.  Its that simple. 

[SouthPaw]

This was a horse-shit call. Flacco even makes an attempt to continue forward towards the first down marker a split-second before realizing Burfict was about to hit him. If this would've been a RB or WR then odds are the ref doesn't even consider throwing that flag.

Don't get me wrong, many of the calls were certainly horseshit, however, its not why they lost the game.  There was some ridiculous non-calls for the ravens as well. 

[SnickyCat]

Don't get me wrong, many of the calls were certainly horseshit, however, its not why they lost the game.  There was some ridiculous non-calls for the ravens as well. 

Oh I agree, the refs didn't cost them the game. Was just commenting on this call.

[Bengals1181]

Pacman did the same thing on a pass play yesterday and it wasn't called.  The refs ARE NOT the reason they lost the game.  Some of the fellas on this site need to sack up and realize when this team loses its because they cant get out of their own way.  Every single loss, Cleveland aside, has been so eerily similar its remarkable.  Chance after chance after chance to take control of a ball game and they fail to do so.  If this team were standing over itself with a gun pointing down, they would have no fucking toes left.  Its that simple. 

 

 

I don't see anyone saying the refs cost them the game, that doesn't mean there weren't some bad calls, against both teams, yesterday.

[|Bunghole|]

I thought the horse collar call on Carlos Dunlap was shitty also.

That was SUCH a horrible call. You are allowed to grab a QB's jersey there on his back as long as you don't drag him down by it. Dunlap made a freakish play with his speed to bring Flacco down after he stood back there all damn day before rolling out to his right. A REALLY, really bad call. He simply did not tackle or otherwise drag Flacco down from that part of his jersey...all the momentum had him tackling Flacco FORWARD, not backward.

[Bengals1181]

to speak to the inbalance of the offense, Andy Dalton now leads the league in pass attempts.

[|Bunghole|]

to speak to the inbalance of the offense, Andy Dalton now leads the league in pass attempts.

Yeah, this is where the oline needs to improve, the run game. We tend to get some decent gashing runs here and there, but the line needs to be more consistent with it's run blocking. The last two games aside, the pass pro is generally pretty good. Of course, when you're throwing the ball over fifty times in a come from behind game, you're giving the opposing defense more cracks at getting to your QB, too, no matter how good your line pass blocks.

[Bengals1181]

• 

  Marvin Lewis: No second-guessing

  (14:00) Posted 2 hours ago

  The Bengals head coach reflects on Sunday's overtime loss in Baltimore.

• 

  Week 10: Bengals vs. Ravens Highlights

  (4:43) Posted Nov 10, 2013

  The Baltimore Ravens overcome a game-tying Hail Mary from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to wide receiver A.J. Green as time expires in the fourth quarter to defeat the Bengals 20-17 in Week 10.