News
10/9/22
5 min read
Tucker's Game-Winner Gives Ravens 17-16 Victory Over Bengals
Sunday's AFC North showdown didn't quite reach the shootout that some had projected, but the ending was certainly not lacking for excitement. Each of the game's final three possessions featured scoring, and the final two featured lead changes. In the end in Baltimore it was a familiar sight for Ravens fans: Justin Tucker jogged out with three seconds remaining, and sent the home crowd away happy with a game-winning kick to give Baltimore a 17-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, and solo first place in the division.
The Best to Ever Do It Does It Again
In a league where missed extra points or 43-yard field goals can cost teams a win, Justin Tucker's greatness from all distances has been an incredible thing for Baltimore to rely on for over a decade. Sunday night, sent out to attempt the same 43-yard field goal that sunk Arizona against Philadelphia earlier in the game, Tucker drilled his kick right down the center of the uprights for the 19th game-winning field goal of his career, and his first since Week 9 of last season against the Minnesota Vikings.
"I love it and I hate it and everything in between. I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't nervous every time I go out there," Tucker said in a postgame interview with NBC.
That was his most important kick of the night, but it was far from his best. Tucker cashed in another crucial kick from 58 yards in the early third quarter to give Baltimore a 13-10 lead. After that kick, even Tucker seemed to acknowledge how easy he makes those deep ones look, turning to acknowledge the home crowd with a highlight likely to become a defining clip for the remainder of his time in the NFL.
Legend pic.twitter.com/5e5XcB8cyg
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 10, 2022
Thats 60 straight FGs made in the 4th quarter or OT by @jtuck9
— trey wingo (@wingoz) October 10, 2022
It was the fourth consecutive game Tucker has cashed one in from beyond 50 yards, and the 52nd make of that distance of his career. With another seven, he will pass Sebastian Janikowski for second-most all-time, trailing only Arizona's Matt Prater. In a defense-led game where only three touchdowns were scored, Tucker's perfect 4-4 day on field goals proved to be the difference.
Where Was the Offense?
Coming in to Sunday night, the Bengals' defense ranked in the middle of the league in total yards, while Baltimore's ranked near the bottom in both yards and points allowed per game. So naturally, with both teams boasting powerful offenses, the teams struggled to score more than a single touchdown each, and with under two minutes to play neither had reached 300 yards in the game. The Bengals finished with 291 yards, and Baltimore didn't break 300 until its final possession.
Up until that final drive, Lamar Jackson was at 191 yards, which would have been the fewest for him in a regular season game since Oct. 11, 2020 — which also came at home against the Bengals. His efforts on the game-winning series — which included a 19-yard run that got Baltimore into field goal range — pushed him up to 232 for the game. Mark Andrews got his with eight catches and 89 yards (plus a touchdown), and Devin Duvernay got work as a runner and passer for 84 total yards to support Jackson's efforts.
Staring at the Cincinnati side of the field, things didn't look much better. The Bengals did manage to reach the end zone twice, including a Joe Burrow QB keeper that gave Cincinnati its first lead of the game with two minutes remaining, but the Bengals will be left wondering "What if?" from the drive before that, when they had first and goal from the Ravens' 2-yard line, but failed to score, when an inside pass on fourth down fell incomplete.
Maybe Cincy should try creating their own plays and not just running the same trick play and shovel pass everyone else is running these days
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) October 10, 2022
Burrow's final line went for 212 yards passing, and Joe Mixon chipped in 78 yards rushing.
Remember Me?
Not only did Sunday night's game bring division rivals together, but it brought former teammates back together, and some players to the field against their former team.
One of those former connections was tight end Hayden Hurst, who was a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens back in 2018, and played his first two seasons with the Ravens before a trade to Atlanta. Hurst started his fifth game this season for Bengals on Sunday night, one more than he started in his two years combined with Baltimore, and he let the Ravens know what they were missing out on by fighting through an arm tackle to score Cincinnati's first points of the game.
Better as a Bengal 😏#BudLightCelly | @budlight pic.twitter.com/FtxXQohCk8
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 10, 2022
Quarterback Joe Burrow threw that touchdown to Hurst, but was on the unfortunate end of another reunion in the game. Right after the Bengals came up with a fourth down stop that gave the offense good field position in the third quarter, Burrow threw an interception on the team's first play of the ensuing drive. Picking him off was linebacker Patrick Queen, Burrow's teammate at LSU with whom he won a National Championship and was a first-round pick with in the 2020 NFL Draft. It was the only turnover of the game for the Bengals.
That’s LSU On LSU crime
— trey wingo (@wingoz) October 10, 2022
