Staff reactions to Ravens 27-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals

On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 27-16.

Below are the reactions from the Baltimore Beatdown staff.

The game went exactly as you’d expect given the information that the Ravens were benching some starters and third-string quarterback Anthony Brown was getting the start.

It’s clear Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh didn’t think much of this game and opted instead to rest and prepare his team for a return to Cincinnati next week.

The violence of this game will surely be kept in mind when they approach next Sunday. As will the Bengals celebrations after intercepting a third-string QB in his first NFL start. On to Cincinnati, indeed. — Kyle Barber

The Ravens were clearly not overly concerned with winning this game, so expectations should have been tempered. However, resting four of their starters with a third-string quarterback starting, they played scrappy and put up a competitive effort. If not for a couple costly turnovers in the first half, they might have had a real shot to pull off an upset.

Particularly on defense, they performed much better than the 27 points allowed final would indicate. If Lamar Jackson returns next week, there’s some reason for optimism heading into a playoff rematch against Cincinnati. — Frank Platko

There isn’t much to say about a game where the Ravens were down to their third-string quarterback and without several other key players. The defense did their job on the day, which is a very encouraging sign for next weekend when they play the Bengals again.

The biggest domino remains quarterback Lamar Jackson. If Jackson returns next week then Baltimore could have a legitimate shot at winning on Wild Card Weekend. The play of the wide receivers remains an issue though, as multiple players made game-changing errors at critical points. — Dustin Cox

The Ravens got stomped on by the Bengals offense in 2021. They wisely went back the drawing board. The result was Mike Macdonald, Marcus Williams, Kyle Hamilton with Roquan Smith as the cherry on top. Baltimore held the Bengals to 17 points in their first matchup and allowed only 20 points defensively today despite very little help offensively and down several starters who were rested.

With a huge playoff matchup looming, the Ravens defense looks ready to match the Bengals in philosophy and talent.

Anthony Brown made a huge mistake early but made several big throws and out produced Joe Burrow in the second half. Isaiah Likely looked every part of a certified threat which bodes well for next week while the Ravens offense moved the ball well enough to make things interesting despite no JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Mark Andrews or Kevin Zeitler. — Spencer Schultz