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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
BALTIMORE — It looked like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase had pulled it off Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
Throughout the prime-time matchup against their AFC North rivals, Cincinnati’s star quarterback and wide receiver linked up for plays when the Bengals needed them most, including a late touchdown that put Cincinnati in position for the game winner.
But the Bengals ended up one play short in a 35-34 loss to the Ravens. A failed two-point conversion with 38 seconds remaining squandered outstanding performances from both players.
Burrow finished with 428 yards and four touchdowns on 34-of-56 passing. Chase turned in one of the best performances of his career — 11 catches, three touchdowns and 264 receiving yards. The efforts, however, were not enough to keep the Bengals from losing their second and final regular-season matchup against the Ravens this season.
“They are the best duo in the league right now, and they show it every week,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “We just feel like we have to hold up our end, and things could be a lot different. But, it just hasn’t gone our way this season.”
The Bengals (4-6) led 21-7 midway through the third quarter when Baltimore (7-3) created a huge break to get back into the game. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ripped the ball out of Bengals running back Chase Brown’s hands. The Ravens recovered the ball and then went on a 21-0 run to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
But Burrow and Chase did just about everything to keep the Bengals in contention. One play after the Ravens went ahead, Burrow immediately responded with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Chase that tied the score at 28-28.
When the Ravens regained the lead with 1:49 left and Cincinnati needing a touchdown, Burrow leaned on Chase. At one point, Chase tied his career-high of 266 receiving yards that was set in 2021. However, a defensive penalty that Cincinnati accepted negated the play.
A couple of snaps later, Burrow found Chase for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the final minute. Cincinnati’s two-point attempt for the potential game-winning points failed when a Burrow pass for tight end Tanner Hudson sailed a little high. Burrow had no qualms with the decision to go for it.
“We knew what situation we were in,” Burrow said.
As for Burrow and Chase, who have played with each other for six of the past seven seasons dating back to their college days at LSU, they turned in one of their best performances together. Chase was willing to defer to reporters when asked if Thursday night topped that list.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Burrow and Chase turned in “incredible” performances.
“I thought Ja’Marr stepped up in a major way,” Taylor said. “Anytime we could find ways to get him the ball, I thought Joe did a great job of that. And Ja’Marr finished a lot of those plays for us. I thought they played excellent.”
But what happened on Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium was a microcosm of the season.
Entering Week 10, Burrow and Chase had been enjoying two of their best seasons in their respective careers. Burrow was second in Total QBR, trailing only Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who finished the game with 290 passing yards and four touchdowsn. Chase was second in the league in receiving yards behind Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, their former teammate at LSU.
And when put in that lens, the fact the Bengals are still under the .500 mark through 10 games this season was befuddling for Chase.
“It’s crazy to say that,” Chase said. “I would never, in a million years, expect me to play this well and he play this well and we still have a record like this.”
On top of that, Cincinnati also had the NFL’s leading sack leader, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, coming into Thursday night. That also compounded the frustration.
“If you look at how we’re playing and you look at Trey Hendrickson, how he’s playing, yeah that’s a tough pill to swallow,” Burrow said after the game. “But we’ve had our opportunities.
“Obviously, it’s tough when you feel like you’re playing well enough to win and you’re not. But there’s always more to do.”