Joe Burrow threw for a career-high 416 yards and three touchdowns, including that pivotal 82-yarder to Chase in the third quarter, and the Bengals won their AFC North showdown against the Ravens in style, pulling away in the second half for a 41-17 victory.
The Bengals (5-2) drew even with the Ravens (5-2) atop the division, a sign that Burrow and Chase might be ahead of schedule in turning around this struggling franchise. The former LSU teammates were too much for Baltimore to handle, and Cincinnati’s offense moved the ball pretty easily from the middle of the second quarter to the finish.
Chase had eight catches for 201 yards, easily the most productive performance of his impressive debut season. He broke Speedy Thomas’ franchise rookie record of 177 yards receiving, set in a 1969 game at Denver.
The blowout win probably quieted some of the external skepticism about Cincinnati’s solid start, although Taylor felt the Bengals had been playing well for a while. They’d already won a road game within the division last month against Pittsburgh.
“I feel like it started before this,” Taylor said. “These are kind of things we needed to check off. This team has really taken it to us the last several times.”
The Bengals snapped a five-game losing streak against the Ravens. Baltimore’s three most recent wins in the series were by a combined score of 114-19.
Lamar Jackson threw for 257 yards and ran for 88, but he was sacked five times as the Ravens lost for the first time since their opener at Las Vegas. Jackson found Marquise Brown for a 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter that put Baltimore up 17-13, but the Ravens’ only lead of the game was brief.