The Ravens entered "Sunday Night Football" in Week 5 having lost a record five straight games on their own turf. But none other than Justin Tucker snapped that streak in a big way against the rival Bengals. The most accurate kicker in NFL history got four different opportunities at points under the prime-time lights, and he delivered on all four, including a 58-yarder and the game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired. Lamar Jackson's own legs helped seal the Ravens' 19-17 win, which cemented Baltimore atop the AFC North and sent Joe Burrow and Co. below .500.
The Ravens' close win also halted a run of blown leads at home. Among the team's five consecutive home losses coming into Sunday night's rivalry were games in which Baltimore was up by 17 and 21 points but still lost. Jackson helped the Ravens out to a 10-0 lead in Sunday's contest, but the Bengals knotted it up ahead of halftime. Tucker, meanwhile, has now made 72 straight field goals in the second half and overtime, including a record 59 straight in the fourth quarter and OT, per the Baltimore Sun.
Here are some additional takeaways from Sunday night's AFC North showdown:
Why the Ravens won
They held the ball last. In all seriousness, Sunday's matchup wasn't the prettiest, with both sides struggling on third downs and failing to produce efficiently through the air, so it did help that Baltimore controlled the ball to close the game. Jackson was even more erratic than usual while slinging it deep, missing several wide-open targets downfield. But No. 8 came alive late with one rope to Mark Andrews after another, and his shiftiness outside the pocket came in handy on some key runs to set up Tucker's game-winning field goal as time expired. Despite some decent gains from both J.K. Dobbins and Kenyan Drake out of the backfield, Jackson remained the difference-maker on the ground.
Defensively, the Ravens were easily at their best since the team's Week 1 rout of the Jets. Coordinator Mike Macdonald, much-maligned in recent weeks, dialed up blitzes at the right times as three different players got to Burrow. While his unit allowed a late 13-play scoring drive that allowed Cincy to claim a brief 17-16 lead, it also stuffed the Bengals on a separate red-zone effort, with Marcus Peters breaking up a reverse; and saw Patrick Queen log an easy pick of Burrow earlier in the night.
Why the Bengals lost
It's something of a tired criticism to pin blame on Zac Taylor for their lack of offensive rhythm, but the predictability problems persisted for Cincinnati: too often early on, Burrow and Co. ran when under center and threw in the Shotgun -- which sounds fine until you realize how incredibly rare it is for them to mix in play-action or Shotgun runs. Joe Mixon moved fine taking 14 carries, but Burrow had a tough time sustaining drives with such stale strategy, let alone Tee Higgins disappearing due to injury.
When Taylor did veer into creative play calls, he did so at the wrong time, killing a red-zone trip with a double reverse and shovel pass that essentially took the ball out of Burrow's hands. A combined 13 catches from Ja'Marr Chase and Hayden Hurst couldn't save the effort, and neither could another lively outing from the defense, which picked off Jackson and held the Ravens QB to just 5.4 yards per attempt. In a close game with a nearly even time of possession, they simply couldn't find explosiveness.
Turning point
Immediately after the Bengals marched 75 yards, milking almost eight minutes off the clock to take a 17-16 lead in the fourth, the Ravens turned to what they do best: the ground game. After a penalty on Cincy pushed Baltimore to its own 45-yard line, Jackson ripped off a 19-yard gain weaving in and out of would-be tacklers down the right side. His read-option run took the ball all the way to the Bengals' 36 and allowed the Ravens to control the clock while inching deeper into Tucker territory for the win.
Play of the game
The Ravens were up three with just over four minutes left in the third quarter, when Burrow and Co. came knocking at the door. Taylor even dialed up something creative (!) for the Bengals' red zone trip, unfurling a would-be "Philly Special" double reverse. But Marcus Peters ruined the entire thing -- and preserved Baltimore's lead -- by flying in to knock Tyler Boyd off his feet and set up third-and-goal on a drive the Bengals would close without points.
What's next
The Ravens (3-2) will hit the road for a matchup with Brian Daboll's Giants (4-1), who upset the Packers in London on Sunday morning. The Bengals (2-3), meanwhile, will hit the road to take on the Saints (2-3), who edged the Seahawks in a shootout.