Sunday turned into a must win situation for the Cincinnati Bengals after the NFL announced their home field playoff game would be determined by a coin flip with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

The Bengals didn’t waste any time taking control of this game as they scored a field goal on their opening drive and turned back-to-back interceptions into touchdowns making it 17-0 early.

Late in the first half, The Bengals stepped up once again as Trey Hendrickson got a strip sack and Joseph Ossai recovered the fumble for a touchdown making it 24-7.

The second half wasn’t the most pretty half of football from the Bengals, but they were able to do enough to get out of there with a 27-16 win and guarantee a home playoff game next week.

Winners:

Defensive Turnovers

The Bengals’ defense has been outstanding this season and fueled the Bengals in this one allowing them to put this game to rest early.

Back-to-back interceptions by Jessie Bates and Mike Hilton set up the first two touchdowns of this game and allowed the Bengals to take control early and play with the lead.

Late in the first half, Hendrickson added to the takeaways by forcing a strip sack that was recovered by Ossai for the touchdown.

Finally, late in the fourth quarter Jessie Bates and Cam Taylor-Britt were in on a forced fumble that was recovered by Vonn Bell helping secure the win.

Drue Chrisman

Chrisman had a major impact on the result of this game.

His first punt was nearly blocked, but he did an excellent job of getting it off and forcing the Ravens to start deeper in their own territory.

However, his second punt was a 56-yard bomb that went out of bounds at the 5-yard line setting up Hendrickson and the defense to get the strip sack fumble that was recovered for a touchdown.

Ja’Marr Chase

On a day that the offense just couldn’t find much of a rhythm, it was Chase that continued to step up and have a big impact on the game.

Chase finished with 8 receptions for 86-yards and a touchdown when he absolutely mossed the Ravens’ defender.

Despite missing some time this season with a hip injury, Chase’s performance allowed him to get back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his first two years in the league.

Joe Mixon’s Touchdown Celebration

With the NFL deciding to attempt to take away a home playoff game from the Bengals despite winning the AFC North, Mixon had the perfect response.

After scoring a touchdown early in the first quarter, Mixon took his glove off and pulled out a quarter to do his own coin flip in the end zone.

Eli Apple’s trolling

It’s no secret Bengals cornerback Eli Apple is an All-Pro troller, and boy did get a good one in after today’s game at the expense of Roger Goodell.

Losers:

Officials

The Ravens can thank the officials for any offensive success as they called a questionable roughing the passer on Hendrickson leading to their first touchdown of the game.

The next time the Ravens added points to the scoreboard came after the officials missed an obvious facemask against Burrow that led to him fumbling the ball near the goal line. The Ravens would tack on a field goal off that turnover.

Offensive Production

The offense put up 20-points in this one, but that number could have been a lot higher with Burrow missing on some throws he normally completes and having to settle for field goals in the red zone.

Burrow finished the game completing 25/42 passes for 215-yards and 1 touchdown. Not the best performance from the Bengals’ high-powered offense.

I don’t think the offensive issues today are something to worry about going forward. Sometimes the offense just isn’t firing on all cylinders. It is good to know that the offense can still put up 20-points on an off day.

Offensive Line

While the Ravens recorded just 2 sacks, Joe Burrow faced a ton of pressure in this game and had to make some miraculous scrambles to avoid being sacked and turn nothing into something for the offense.

The Ravens have a very good defense, but as we get into the playoffs, the amount of pressure Burrow faces can’t be at the level we saw today.

Injuries

The Bengals being forced to play their starters today because the NFL wanted to take away a home playoff game turned into a nightmare for the injury report.

During the game, the Bengals had Tyler Boyd get banged up (was able to return) and Tee Higgins take a big shot but appeared to just have the wind knocked out of him.

On the offensive line, right guard Alex Cappa had a guy fall into the side of his knee and get rolled up on which didn’t look good. It is worth noting that the broadcast reported it is an ankle injury and not a knee injury for Cappa.

Hopefully, we get some great news in the coming days!