The Baltimore Ravens came into their Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals riding the high of five consecutive wins.
All of that momentum was crushed by a turnover-filled night as the Ravens lost 32-14.
Baltimore turned the ball over five times in the loss, with quarterback Lamar Jackson throwing an interception and fumbling twice and Isaiah Likely and Zay Flowers each fumbling once. The Ravens also turned the ball over on downs once.
Those turnovers look even worse when considering how bad the Bengals’ defense has been this year.
Cincinnati had allowed at least 26 points in a single-season record 10 straight games, ESPN’s Jamison Hensley noted. The Bengals had just 10 turnovers forced coming into the game, and they had half as many on Thursday.
Fans ripped Jackson and Baltimore’s offense for the poor showing after the game.
Despite an uncharacteristically bad night from the Ravens, the loss is not the end-all be-all for their season. They’re still in the playoff mix as 6-6, but they can’t afford more lackluster performances like Thursday’s.
The Bengals can still make the playoffs despite at 3-8 start, but they’ll need to be nearly perfect the rest of the way and possibly get some help from other teams. Thursday’s defensive performance should inspire some confidence.
