Report Card: Ravens Keep the Dream Alive in Cincy

In a game that hinted at the expectations many placed on this team for much of the offseason, the Ravens used an explosive running game, timely passes from their star quarterback and a tenacious defense to beat the Bengals 24-0 in a game the Ravens positively, absolutely had to have.

Let’s look at some grades.

Offense Overall: B

Statistically, this one won’t wow you, and part of that is due to the Bengals holding the ball for nearly 13 minutes of the fourth quarter, and part of that is due to drops and coverage sacks. But they were fantastic in the run game, largely due to long, piercing runs from Derrick Henry (11 carries for 100 yards) and Keaton Mitchell (eight carries for 66 yards). The Ravens only threw for 150 yards, but Lamar Jackson had only had 12 attempts, and there were at least two costly drops. This one started out ugly, but the Ravens went touchdown-touchdown-field goal to end the first half and start the second, putting the game in picket. They were only 2-7 on third downs, but averaged 7.9 yards per play. Following glimpses we saw of offensive efficiency in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh, this is a nice building piece.

Quarterback: A

We won’t ding Jackson on the interception since it clanged right off the hands of his best receiver, but he also got fortunate that an overthrow to Mark Andrews at the end of the first half wasn’t intercepted, so we’ll call those a wash. He threw a gorgeous touchdown pass to Flowers at the end of the half, and had another that the receiver should have probably brought in, even if it was a little high. He was 8-12 for 150 yards and two touchdowns — the other on a quick out to Rasheen Ali that the running back brought down the sideline for the first score of the game. Jackson also only ran twice, but they were both important pick-ups. He was really, really good today in cold conditions in a must-have game with limited opportunities.

Running Backs: A+

Henry and Mitchell, as mentioned before, were dominant in this one — both looking explosive at different times of the game. With the Ravens holding a 14-0 lead on their first possession of the third quarter, and really needing a big drive to clamp down this game, Henry ran for 28 and 24 on the first two plays of the drive to get them downfield. Mitchell looked fast, once again, with his carries, and had a 22-yarder at the end of the game to wrap it up. These two were huge. Ali’s touchdown on the catch-and-run to open the day’s scoring was giant. Unit of the game for me.

Receivers: C-

Zay Flowers had some really big plays today, like the touchdown on the double move and the gutsy, sliding grab at the end of the first half, but the drops hurt. One went for a pick, and the other cost a score. The missed touchdown wasn’t a gimme, but he has to bring in those balls, especially at this time of the year. DeAndre Hopkins had a sweet 32-yarder in the second quarter on an RPO look. Mark Andrews brought in two balls for 18 yards. Isaiah Likely whiffed on a Myles Murphy sack in the third quarter, and didn’t receive a target. Much of the pressure Jackson took in this game was due to receivers not getting open. They did not shine in this one.

Offensive Line: B-

I know the Ravens gave up four sacks, and there were certainly a few lowlights out there, but at first glance, I saw the sacks as a naked bootleg that didn’t fool the defender, one pocket that crumbled probably a little faster than it should have and two pure coverage sacks, including one when Jackson tripped over an injured defender lying on the ground. They also opened some huge holes in the run game. Tyler Linderbaum did get pushed backwards for one of the sacks, but he was downfield on several big runs today. Ronnie Stanley showed a ton of fire on the field. Daniel Faalele put some bad plays on tape again, as did Andrew Vorhees, but they also got a few angles that sprung some run lanes. It wasn’t Pro Bowl-stuff out there from start to finish, but this unit was good in the run game, again, and carved a gorgeous pocket for Jackson on his touchdown throw to Flowers.

Defense Overall: A

The weather obviously contributed to some of the Bengals’ drops and errant passes, but the Ravens had the same weather on offense. In a sentence I haven’t typed very often this season, if at all, the Ravens got consistent pass rush from their front four all day. They went on the road and held Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals offense to 3-15 on third downs, turned the ball over and won the line of scrimmage on a down-to-down basis. This was the ultimate bend-but-don’t break performance, but also dominant in terms of keeping the Bengals’ offense on its heels all game. This is what we expected from this unit coming into the season.

Defensive Line: A

Travis Jones signed an extension this week, and then had another strong performance, collecting four tackles and a sack, and basically controlling the middle of the field. He also drilled Burrow on an incompletion at the end of the first half, and stuffed a run on the Bengals’ opening possession of the second half. Dre’Mont Jones played maybe his best game since coming to the Ravens in a November trade. On back-to-back plays at the end of the first half, he drew a holding flag and then hit Burrow on a third-down incompletion. He added another quarterback hit in the fourth quarter, and offered up an excellent meme as he appeared to mock the Bengals for “crying” for a flag.

pic.twitter.com/YUd3lAoSbA

— (@SimplyAS10) December 14, 2025

Tavius Robinson returned from injury with a bang, knocking the Bengals out of field-goal range with a 15-yard sack on the Bengals’ first drive of the game, and getting pressure several times. He hit Burrow on his fourth-quarter interception to Kyle Van Noy, who then handed the ball to Alohi Gilman to complete a 95-yard pick-handoff-six to ice things. John Jenkins was solid again in this one, registering four tackles.

Linebackers: A

Roquan Smith was everywhere, continuing his strong play since returning from an injury several weeks ago. Smith had 14 tackles, eight of them solo. He destroyed a third-quarter screen for a minimal gain and stuffed a fourth-and-one run in the fourth quarter. He was also good in coverage in this one. Teddye Buchanan got hurt early, but flashed before that, including making a good run stop on the Bengals’ first play of the game. Trenton Simpson stepped in and continued his strong season, registering nine tackles, including a great stop at the end of the first half.

Defensive Backs: B

They struggled with Chase. A lot. Again. In fact, he would have done more damage if he didn’t have a couple of drops. Still, they made Burrow hold the ball a lot, which helped the rush do their job up front, and that goes a long way. Marlon Humphrey again showed his knack for timely plays with a pick early in the second quarter, and again showed his toughness when he returned from another injury after getting beaten on a fourth-down completion. Humphrey is getting by on guts this year.

Nate Wiggins also had his hands full with Chase, but made a few nice plays, as well, including a nice break-up on a comeback pass in the fourth quarter. Gilman would be such a good player if he tackled consistently, but he was still a positive in this one. Besides his touchdown, he also had a nice open-field tackle on Chase in the second quarter, and blew up a third-quarter screen for little gain. Kyle Hamilton was quiet by his standards, but was always around the ball, collecting eight tackles, and drew a hold on a blitz. Malaki Starks showed his recovery speed, catching up to a second-quarter pass to break it up, and then later coming downfield and helping stuff a third-and-one run in the fourth quarter.

Special Teams: B

Rasheen Ali only had one kick return, but it was for 32 yards to start the game and give the Ravens good field position — which they promptly wasted. Jordan Stout missed an early opportunity to pin the Bengals with a touchback, but dropped one inside their 15 at the end of the third quarter. Tyler Loop made his kicks and kicked off better than he has been. There weren’t any huge field-position-shifting plays, but they were good, and the kickoff coverage was perhaps the best it’s been all year. Professional effort.

Coaching: B+

I still get a little weirded-out by the decisions to abandon the run game when it is chugging downfield, but this was a well-schemed game on offense and they utilized both Henry’s and Mitchell’s strengths. The defense came to play, and despite giving up a lot of yards to Chase, it was basically only Chase. You can live with that. Overall, I thought this team showed more fire out there than I’ve seen, as evidenced by Stanley and Jones most visibly.

This is the team we’ve wanted to see this year.

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