Knee-Jerk Reactions: Ravens 24 Bengals 0

The Ravens defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 24-0 to pull back to .500 at 7-7. RSR staff react to the win here.

Chad Racine

I should pick against the Ravens more often because that’s when they’re sure to win. The defense shutting out Burrow was the most surprising. Lamar is clearly getting healthier every week and showing improvements.  Finally both the defense and offense showed up in the same game. Only 17 offensive points but they’re moving in the right direction.  There’s hope the Ravens can still win the division.

Derek Arnold

I’ve been compiling our Bold Predictions for 13 years here at RSR. This is the first of a handful of times – and I am almost certain the first time with Lamar Jackson on the field – that we were unanimous in picking against the Ravens. Personally, I lost a nice chunk of money putting it where my mouth was on the Bengals winning today. Whoops!

I don’t understand how a team can look so hapless against the corpse of Aaron Rodgers, then have no problem stymieing Joe Burrow, to the tune of a shutout. The Ravens got pressure with four for much of the day, and the back end held up. They were aiding by a few drops, sure, but so were the Bengals (ahem, Zay…).

The offense had another slowwwww start, and, as mentioned, some dropsies of their own, but turned it up midway through the second quarter. Derrick Henry had three 20+ yard runs to help seal the deal in the second half.

And do we think it’s a coincidence that two days after Ed Reed was at practice, we had not only a pick six, but one that included a hand-off/lateral??

That was a team that enjoyed Thanksgiving turkey on YOUR field a few weeks ago. This was a beautiful response. Go Dolphins.

Nick Polinsky

I seemed to be the only one who had any sort of confidence in the Ravens to win this one. Though it wasn’t the 33-30 shootout win that I predicted, winning this way was 5x as fun.

The defense put all of the pieces together today. They forced two turnovers and capitalized on their opportunities. This is how you win in December. Play good defense and feed the 240-pound wrecking ball you have in your backfield. There’s a reason why his December stats are much better than all other months over his career.

Now attention turns to tomorrow night in hope the Dolphins can pull off a win against Pittsburgh.

Rob Shields

Well, that was certainly not something we saw coming.

The offense really didn’t run many plays today but when they did, they were very efficient. They averaged over 8 yards per play and were it not for two Zay Flowers drops (one that would have been a TD and one that would have been a first down and continue a drive but instead was a pick), the offense likely does even more.

The Bengals owned the first quarter. They looked like the team that wanted it more. The lines were dominating the Ravens and the Ravens were doing nothing on offense. The defense kept them in the game early with the returning Tavius Robinson getting a huge sack and then Marlon Humphrey got a pick.

After the first quarter, the Ravens dominated the game. This was their first complete game of the season and gives us some level of hope.

With T.J. Watt out for Pittsburgh this week and I would think next week as well, you have to figure they lose one of the next two games. If they do that and if Baltimore can beat New England next week, the GB game will not matter and the Ravens could choose to make that a bye week game if they want.

Let’s see how the injured players came out of this one, as losing Chidobe Awuzie and/or Ronnie Stanley would be bad. Teddye Buchanan is probably done for the season, so that sucks but you do have some depth there.

Give the players and coaches a lot of credit for this one. They have both earned a lot of criticism this year but that was a hell of a performance.

Chris Schisler

It may be too late but Lamar Jackson is back. He looked like Lamar Jackson again and that’s huge. The Ravens were actually fun to watch today.

What can you complain about when you force a shutout? It felt like old school Ravens football. Van Noy’s hand off to Gilman is a mirror image of Haloti Ngata letting Ray Lewis finish the play against the Buccaneers. The Ravens took some punches but found a way to get stops. The pass rush was sensational. The coverage down field was incredible.

What can you say, it’s a beautiful (cold) day.

Jared Pinder

I don’t like giving the 2025 ravens credit. There are still massive issues and the offense is still awful. However the defense was much better today.

The season is saved, for now, no matter how much we want and need change.

We still need to change many things about this organization including Harbaugh – but for today, we still are alive.

Vermont Raven

Mad respect to Zach Orr and the entire Ravens defense!!!  What a performance on the road versus a great offense.  Offense still needs work, but season is alive!

The post Knee-Jerk Reactions: Ravens 24 Bengals 0 appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/12/14/knee-jerk-reactions/knee-jerk-reactions-ravens-24-bengals-0/