The Cincinnati Bengals are now 2-0 after they beat the Baltimore Ravens 34-23 Thursday night at home to start Week 2 of the 2018 season.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completed 24 of his 42 total pass attempts Thursday night against the Ravens for 265 yards and 4 touchdowns. All four of Dalton’s touchdown passes came in the first half and three of them were caught by wide receiver A.J. Green, who finished the game with 5 receptions for 69 yards. Dalton’s other touchdown pass went to wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who caught 6 passes for 91 yards in the game.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon lead his team in rushing against the Ravens as he finished with 84 yards on 21 total carries. Mixon also caught one pass for 3 yards in the game. Bengals kicker Randy Bullock closed out the Cincinnati’s scoring Thursday night with two late fourth quarter field goal from 28 and 40 yards out.
The Bengals raced out to a 21-0 lead thanks to them scoring touchdowns on three of their first four offensive possessions. Their first touchdown of the game came after Bengals safety Jesse Bates intercepted a pass from Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco that was intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
While Flacco wound up throwing for 376 yards on 32 total completions Thursday night against the Bengals, he was also intercepted twice during the game in addition to being sacked four times. He also fumbled away the football late in the game on one of those sacks that the Bengals ultimately converted into their second of two field goals on the night.
Flacco’s accuracy wasn’t great throughout the game as he had multiple passes batted down near or at the line of scrimmage with a few more incompleted throws being way off target. His two touchdown passes in the game went to tight end Mark Andrews and wide receiver John Brown, who led his team in receiving yardage with 92 yards on 4 receptions.
Ravens running back Alex Collins led his team in rushing with 35 yards on 9 total carries. Collins also caught 3 passes for another 55 yards in his team’s losing effort. Fellow running back Javorius Allen scored Baltimore’s other touchdown in the game, a 1-yard run with 8:20 left in the second quarter that made the score 21-7 Bengals.
The Ravens defense failed to register either a turnover or a sack Thursday night. Baltimore safety Tony Jefferson led his team in total tackles with 9. Bengals linebacker Nick Vigil led his team in total tackles with 9 as well while Cincinnati defensive tackle Geno Atkins was credited with two of the four sacks his team registered during the game.
Not only did the Ravens lose to the Bengals Thursday night, they may have lost linebacker C.J. Mosley for a week or two as he reportedly suffered a bone bruise to his knee during the first half of the game. The Bengals also lost center Billy Price to a right ankle injury during the game and he was spotted on the sideline wearing a walking boot during the second half. Cincinnati defensive end Michael Johnson also left the game with a left knee injury and did not return.
In Week 3 the undefeated Bengals will play the Carolina Panthers on the road a week from Sunday. As for the now 1-1 Ravens, they will host the Denver Broncos a week from Sunday.
