No team has squandered more double-digit leads this decade than the Ravens, but Sunday's 35-13 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was different.
Rather than a brutal loss in the waning minutes, the downfall commenced at the start of the second half and snowballed. After building a 13-0 halftime lead, the Ravens allowed 35 unanswered points for the first time in franchise history.
The Bengals scored touchdowns on their first five drives of the second half, as quarterback Joe Burrow picked apart the defense, going 16-for-18 for 249 yards and four touchdowns, and wide receiver Tee Higgins caught six passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. When the Bengals took the field for their sixth and final possession, former Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco came in for blowout duty.
With backup quarterback Tyler Huntley making his third consecutive start while Lamar Jackson is sidelined with a high ankle sprain, the Ravens scored a touchdown on the game's opening drive but had to settle for fields when two long drives stalled deep in Bengals' territory in the second quarter. The Ravens crossed midfield just once in the second half.
Going back to last week's 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens have been outscored 48-0 in the second half.
The Ravens have fallen to last place in the AFC North and are 0-2 in the division. They're 1-2 at home and have lost five of their past six home games.
Here's what pundits said about the game:
NFL.com’s Nick Shook: "Perhaps, like 'Chargering,' we should start calling it 'Ravening.' I know it's maddening to Baltimore fans who have now watched their team produce consecutive strong starts, then go silent offensively for the remainder of the afternoon. This time around, Baltimore's defense followed suit, falling apart in an embarrassing, toothless second half showing that should force every member of the Ravens operation to take a long, hard look in the mirror in the next 48 hours. Tyler Huntley's early connection with Zay Flowers dried up in the second half, Derrick Henry never got going, the Ravens tallied just five first downs in the second half and collectively failed to deliver even a hint of an answer for what Cincinnati threw at the Ravens on both sides of the ball."
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec: "Even by the Ravens' standards — and this is a team that, since 2018, has now lost 18 games in which it held a double-digit lead, including two straight against division foes — Sunday was a debacle. … While the Ravens melted down Sunday, John Harbaugh's New York Giants found a way to beat the favored Houston Texans in overtime. Todd Monken's Browns summoned more late-game magic to defeat the Tennessee Titans and improve to 5-2. It was Harbaugh and former Ravens coordinators like Monken who frequently shouldered the blame for late-game collapses. There was hope a new coaching staff would fix the issues. It hasn't, which probably says more about the team's current group of players than it does about the coaches. That won't protect Head Coach Jesse Minter from wearing much of the blame. That's what he signed up for. It also felt reasonable to expect Minter to coax notable defensive improvement, and he hasn't done that."
The Baltimore Sun’s Brian Wacker: "A banner along the field in the northeast corner of the end zone reads 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' Baltimore showed little of it over the final 30 minutes. The Ravens' problems looked as familiar as the outcome. Missed tackles. Penalties. Missed opportunities. A leaky secondary. A pass rush that vanished. Not to mention a struggling and battered offensive line that lost another player, rookie guard Vega Ioane, to a knee injury in the second quarter, and a running game stuck in the mud."
The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer: "Inside the 2026 Ravens, there are two teams. One is a Super Bowl contender. The other is a fiasco. The trouble for coach Jesse Minter is that they get equal billing on game days. The First-Half Ravens are one of the NFL's best teams. They've led all but one game at halftime this season, outscoring opponents by a combined 65 points, most in the league. By net expected points added per play, no team has been better, according to Sumer Sports. The Second-Half Ravens, as they showed again inside M&T Bank Stadium, are one of the NFL's worst teams. They've been outscored after halftime in every game but one, their gross differential running to minus-70 points, also most in the league, after 35 unanswered Sunday from the Cincinnati Bengals. By net EPA per play, only the Eagles have been a worse second-half team — and Philadelphia hasn't faced a schedule as soft as the Ravens'."
Press Box’s Antonio Barbera: "What is perhaps most concerning is that the visible change in effort and intensity happened while the game was still technically in the balance. But by the time the Bengals went up 21-13, the game felt lost and the energy in the stadium was gone, even though it was still a one-score game."
Can Ravens Dig Out of an AFC North Hole?
If the season ended today, three AFC North teams would be in the playoffs, and the Ravens aren't one of them.
While there's still a lot of football to be played, the Ravens' margin for error lessens with each loss.
"Are the Ravens already out of the AFC North race?" ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote. "Baltimore fell to 0-2 in the AFC North for the first time in 19 years. Since the formation of the AFC North in 2002, only one team has started 0-2 in the division and went on to win it (2022 Bengals)."
The Ravens fought back from a 1-5 start last season to come within a field goal of winning the division. However, with the Bengals healthy and the Browns improved, the division is tougher this season.
Things won't get any easier the next two weeks, as the Ravens play at the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills on Sunday and host the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars the following Thursday. The Bills, like the Bengals this week, are coming off a bye.
"The Ravens are now sitting at the bottom of an incredibly competitive AFC North and can't welcome Lamar Jackson back quickly enough," Shook wrote. "He might not be the sole fix for their problems, though."
Zrebiec wrote: "Jackson, the two-time league MVP, can only cover up for so much, but his return would at least represent hope."
Pundits Question Minter's Decision to Not Attempt Field Goal Down by One
Pundits questioned Minter's decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Bengals' 12-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter with the Ravens trailing, 14-13, rather than attempt a short field goal that would've given them the lead back and slowed the Bengals' momentum.
Huntley's short pass to rookie tight end Josh Cuevas on a crossing route was incomplete after Cuevas collided with a Bengals defender.
"The aggressive choice had some merit," The Baltimore Sun’s Josh Tolentino wrote. "Cincinnati had steamrolled Baltimore throughout the third quarter. How much protection would a potential two-point lead really offer? But the Ravens had a full quarter to prepare a play that nearly turned into an interception. Huntley insisted Cuevas 'got ran into.' Whatever the contact, Baltimore's disjointed execution wasted another precious scoring opportunity."
Flowers Continues to Shine
Flowers was one of the few bright spots for the Ravens, as he has been all season. The two-time Pro Bowler had eight catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. He's averaging 101.3 receiving yards per game.
"On the Ravens' fourth play from scrimmage, facing a third-and-9 from midfield, Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle elected to call a screen to his speedy No. 1 receiver," Barbera wrote. "Flowers caught Huntley's pass 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage, made one cut and hit a seam, zipping to the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown. It was the ideal start for the Ravens and yet another big play from their top wideout, who continues to reach new levels.
"Flowers has been the most consistent contributor for the Ravens this season."
