Every football season has a game or a moment that’s looked back upon as definitional, be it a turning point or a thudding end. Too often with the Bengals of late, that’s been an injury to Joe Burrow. But Sunday’s memorable 35-13 demolition of the Ravens has the potential to be recalled far more fondly, beyond merely improving the team’s record to 4-2.
If the 2026 Bengals go on to achieve great things, Sunday’s contest will no doubt be recalled as the “Ja’Marr Chase Halftime Speech” Game. Uno went off on his teammates after a lackluster first 30 minutes that saw Cincinnati apparently still on the bye week, snoozing to a 13-0 deficit that felt far worse. When a player like Chase screams bloody murder at his teammates, people take notice. Even Burrow called the atmosphere inside Baltimore’s insanely tiny visiting locker room “intense.”
Chase’s Knute Rockne speech did wonders. Cincinnati embarked on a second-half blitzkrieg that, if it can be channeled in the coming weeks, could propel the team to the heights we envisioned all offseason. Five drives, five touchdowns, and a defensive shutout of the Tyler Huntley-led Ravens, who had moved the ball with ease in the first half. Only a couple of big stops on third downs in the red zone saved the opening stanza from becoming a mountainous hurdle to overcome.
You’ve seen the stat by now: The last team to lose by 20-plus points after leading by 13-plus at half was the 1950 Baltimore Colts, who led the Giants 20-7 at the half and then lost 55-20. Remember that one? That gives a sense of how unusually thorough the butt-whipping was on Sunday.
In addition to giving Cincinnati a much-needed adrenaline boost, it’s a game that has Ravens Nation panicking and throwing major blame at GM Eric DeCosta. It was also Cincinnati’s best divisional win since the “We’re the Big Dogs!” game in Pittsburgh in 2022. (Burrow was recorded on NFL Films mics this weekend as well, though nothing that iconic came out of his mouth.)
In terms of offense, this was Burrow operating (out of shotgun, natch) at his surgical peak. It was also a continuance of the trend I noted last week: Cincinnati always throws it well on Baltimore, going back to the Carson Palmer days. Tossing out the “existential crisis game” against the Ravens last winter, when they were shut out in a lifeless performance, Cincinnati has now scored 35, 32, 34, and 38 points on the Ravens D. Over the last three Ravens-Bengals encounters, there has been a weird wrap-around last 12 quarters of football between the teams: First four and last two quarters: 67-14 Cincinnati. Middle six quarters: 37-0 Baltimore.
The Bengals faced just four third downs during the second half before the last drive with the backups in there, averaging just two yards to go. It was a good way to neutralize the third down blitzes that Baltimore was using in the first half and a great way to play explosive “CFL-style” football: If you never get to third down, the defense can’t force a punt.
Baltimore’s high conversion rate on third and long was the key to their first half clock dominance (22:20 to Cincinnati’s 7:40). Cincy’s D took the approach we all bemoan when other teams force the Bengals into doing it. They concentrated on stopping long pass plays and Derrick Henry’s runs, allowing short-gain paper cuts and gambling that Baltimore would not be able to convert enough third downs and, by extension, score enough points to defeat them. The Ravens upended this stratagem in the first half, until it didn’t. Over the course of 60 minutes, it’s very hard for a team, especially one playing without its elite QB, to continue driving the length of the field to points.
This has mostly been Cincinnati’s overall defensive game plan through six games, and it highlights their strengths. They want to stop the interior run, take away long passes, and rush the passer on third and long. They will live with the short stuff to tight ends and backs, the stuff we loathe when missed tackles turn them into big gains.
But it’s hard to argue with the approach. The Bengals lead the NFL in sacks with 21 (tied with four others) while blitzing way less than any other team. They’re 10th in overall defensive DVOA and seventh against the run, both stats showing the enormous impact of Dexter Lawrence and Boye Mafe (who were both awesome Sunday). Teams seldom even throw in the direction of D.J. Turner, and Dax Hill is not far behind.
It’s hard to be perfect in the NFL, but the second half Sunday was as close as it gets. It also boosted Cincinnati to second in the NFL in total DVOA, as high as they’ve been in that efficiency number since 2015. (Believe it or not, early in 2014 they led the NFL before the injury wave hit.) This team can be as good as that edition—certainly the quarterback is much better. Cincinnati is currently third in offense and seventh in special teams to go with that 10th in D. They still aren’t considered a title contender by most in the national chattering class, but that could and should change if they can sustain the momentum.
Next up is a home encounter with Tennessee on Sunday afternoon. The Titans are currently 1-6 and second to last in total DVOA under new coach Robert Saleh, who replaced old pal Brian Callahan on the Nashville sideline. Do it for Cally! The Titans are a bit feistier than the record indicates, at least over the last two weeks. They had the Browns beaten 11 different ways, including a crucial overturn on a TD run by Tony Pollard that was a) incorrect and b) permitted a goal-line stand that completely changed the game. The Browns also got away with as blatant an uncalled false start as I’ve ever seen, on the play that set up their game-winning field goal.
Pollard will be a handful. He had 129 yards and three touchdowns Sunday despite losing the aforementioned overturn, and he’s 10th in the NFL in rushing yards. Despite internet rumors, Cincinnati isn’t likely to trade for a lead running back before the deadline, but if they were to do so, getting Pollard before having to play against him would make sense. The defensive game plan will look similar to the one that slowed Henry in this case.
That would leave it to quarterback Cam Ward to win the game with his arm (and legs). It’s been a sporadic start to his career, with some amazingly athletic plays dotting a lot of questions about his ability to see the field and diagnose coverages. He hasn’t had much talent around him, to be fair.
The Titans are somewhat surprisingly 12th in the NFL in defending enemy No. 1 wide receivers (the other guys give them fits) despite an anonymous secondary. But they’re just 20th in the NFL in Adjusted Sack Rate and 19th in Adjusted Line Yards—in other words, mediocre in both major phases of affecting the other team’s offense. And big man Jeffrey Simmons was just traded to the Chicago Bears, which is a literal load off my mind.
The basic question is whether Tennessee’s last-rated defense by DVOA can possibly hold down the Bengals attack, and, assuming they can’t, can Ward and his offense score enough to win a shootout? It seems unlikely, but Cincinnati can’t afford to slip up against a bottom-feeder, not so soon after the 30 Minutes That Changed the Season.
Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, and Deadspin. Follow him on X at @robwein.
