Ravens’ painful loss to Colts gives the Bengals a glimmer of hope

Going into Week 3, it seemed inevitable that the Baltimore Ravens were going to improve to 3-0 while facing an Indianapolis Colts team that was coming in with backup quarterback Gardner Minshew.

That is why they play the game, though. The Colts ended up defeating the Ravens in overtime via a walk-off field goal at the end of overtime. One of the biggest heroes from the game was Indianapolis kicker Matt Gay, who hit all five of his field goals. Four of those field goals were from beyond 50 yards, including the game-winner from 53 yards out.

There was NFL history made in the process that Baltimore was on the wrong side of.

The best offensive player for the Colts was running back Zack Moss, going for 145 total yards and Indianapolis’ only touchdown on the day. But the real star was the Colts defense that held the Ravens to only converting six of their 16 third downs, recovered two fumbles, sacked quarterback Lamar Jackson four times, and hit him an additional four times. This defense showed that being able to get pressure on Jackson is still paramount.

The loss did come down to a couple of incredibly unlikely things happening. First was Minshew stepping out of the back of the end zone to give the Ravens a three-point lead and the ball with just over two minutes left, and Indianapolis left with a single timeout.

The Colts were able to get the ball back and get the tying field goal. Then, they held the Ravens to attempting a 61-yard field goal that kicker Justin Tucker (usually automatic in such situations) kicked short of the goalpost.

The next thing was Indianapolis coming up short on 4th-and-short in overtime around the middle of the field. Baltimore then came up short themselves. They failed to convert on third down, where it appeared that wide receiver Zay Flowers was interfered with, but no flag was thrown.

The Colts went on to get the ball back, go down the field, and win the game.

The loss drops the Ravens to 2-1 on the season, tied with the Browns with the same record, and both teams face off in Cleveland next week. It also only leaves one team in the AFC with three wins going into Week 4 (the Miami Dolphins).

The Cincinnati Bengals are sitting at 0-2 with losses handed to them by the top teams in the AFC North, but IF (big if) the Bengals are able to get their first win on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams, they certainly aren’t as far behind in the standings for the AFC North or AFC as they could be.

In a long season, this could possibly be an early break that Cincinnati needs.