Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith (22) intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) during the second half of an NFL football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
A.J. Green torched the Baltimore Ravens’ secondary for 227 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals held onto a 28-24 victory on Sept. 26 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. The loss dropped the Ravens to 0-3 on the season, the first time Baltimore has lost its first three games of a season in franchise history.
Baltimore trailed, 14-0, at halftime after a slow offensive start to the game. Cincinnati’s defense smothered the Ravens’ running game and did a good job limiting quarterback Joe Flacco’s options in the passing game. But Flacco and his most veteran receiver, Steve Smith Sr., began to make plays in the second half and helped the Ravens make a comeback. Flacco and Smith connected on two touchdown plays, including a 20-yard touchdown pass that gave the Ravens a 24-21 lead late in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens’ defense made a few big plays in the second half, including an interception by cornerback Jimmy Smith in the third quarter that prevented Cincinnati from going up 21-0 at the time. Baltimore’s defense also came up with a score in the fourth quarter when sack specialist Elvis Dumervil stripped the ball from Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, allowing linebacker C.J. Mosley to scoop the ball up and run it back 40 yards for the defensive touchdown. That gave Baltimore its first lead of the game, 17-14.
But that’s when Cincinnati’s star receiver, A.J. Green, took over the game, catching an 80-yard touchdown on the very next Bengals possession to give them a 21-17 lead. When Baltimore went back ahead following a Steve
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith (89) out runs Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Emmanuel Lamur (59) and strong safety George Iloka (43) during the second half of an NFL football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Smith touchdown catch, Green then caught his second touchdown pass to push the Bengals back into the lead with two minutes left in the game.
“One of these days we’ll figure out a way to cover A.J. Green. It’ll be nice if we did that one time before he retires,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after the game. “ re-signed him , didn’t they? So he’s going to be around for a while. We better figure it out.”
Baltimore still had two minutes left in the game to try to retake the lead for the win, but an illegal hands to the face penalty called on Ravens’ guard Kelechi Osemele put Baltimore in a fourth down-and-17 scenario and the offense wasn’t able to convert for a first down.
Green led all receivers in the game with 227 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches; Bengals receiver Marvin Jones added five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Dalton completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 383 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Steve Smith led the Ravens with a game-high 13 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns, including a 50-yarder. His 13 catches set a record for the most catches in a single game by any Ravens receiver in team history. Flacco completed 32 of 49 pass attempts for 362 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Next – Baltimore travels to Pittsburgh on Oct. 1 for a Thursday Night Football showdown with the AFC North division archrival Steelers. Kickoff is set for 8:25 p.m. Eastern.
