Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals (11/5/06)



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Big AFC North game as the Bengals went to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. The Bengals have been a hard football team to figure out. They can look good one week, the look terrible the next. They needed this game against the Ravens, but a poor start was their downfall.

The more talk of the Ravens improved offense means one thing. That their defense is doing the scoring. Or at least setting up scores, because on the opening kickoff the Bengals fumbled and the Ravens recovered. With a short field, Steve McNair is as good as anyone. The Ravens cashed in on the turnover when Jamal Lewis scored a 2 yard touchdown run. The Ravens defense scored when Samari Rolle intercepted Carson Palmer. Before he scored he handed off to Ed Reed who scored the touchdown. Even their defense is running offensive plays now.

When you get off to a start like that, it’s easy to cool down. That’s exactly what happened to the Ravens, as for the rest of the football game they settled for field goals. The Bengals offense on the other hand was now starting to move the football on the Ravens. The Bengals cut into the lead when Carson Palmer hit T.J. Houshmandzadeh for a 26 yard touchdown at the end of the first half. They were only down 10, so they had to be happy about that.

The Ravens played their brand of offense in the 3rd quarter with two Matt Stover field goals. That’s the Ravens offense we have all learn to love to hate. The Bengals got a field goal of their own in the 3rd quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Bengals got the big play they needed when Palmer hit Chris Henry for a 71 yard gain. Henry fumbled and the Ravens recovered, but the play was challenged by the Bengals and they won. The Ravens tried to challenge the challenge, but instead were charged a timeout. Smooth move Brian. Rudi Johnson scored on a 4 yard touchdown run.

After Stover’s 4th field goal, the Ravens just had to hold onto the lead. The Bengals kicked a field goal then forced the Ravens to punt. On 4th down, Carson Palmer tried finding T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but the pass was incomplete. Houshmandzadeh thought their was illegal contact and slammed his helmet to the ground. That was a 15 yard penalty. The Bengals did have one last chance but Carson Palmer was intercepted. The Ravens win 26-20.