Joe Burrow Owns QB Matchup Against Ravens

Checking In on the Ravens' Misadventures

Jackson, meanwhile, had to watch as all of his own impressive plays get wiped away one by one. The two-time MVP escaped one of the many crowded quarterback pockets he evaded on the night in locating Isaiah Likely on the run, who can an inch away from a dramatic run to the house before his loose hands let the ball slip, robbing Jackson of his first touchdown throw of the day in a touchback.

Then, later, when Jackson completed what was initially his longest pass of the season in throw to Zay Flowers that covered half of the field, the receiver's push-off just a second before catching the ball resulted in a controversial offensive pass interference call to punch fans in their full Thanksgiving guts once again.

Every mistake Jackson made, though, seemed to result in a worse-case-scenario for the Ravens. The Bengals couldn't convert on the cough-up they forced on a strip sack on the Ravens' own two-yard line, but they had to have enjoyed making his night tougher with another fumble on what looked like an incomplete pass as well as an interception that was tipped off of the defensive line.

Costly mistakes, the ones that only the Ravens seem to make at this volume in a classic instance of beating oneself, went unreflected by Burrow and co. He played steady, disaster-free football while the Ravens toiled away, eventually putting them away himself to give Cincinnati some fresh life in making the AFC North race interesting down the stretch.

Baltimore will miss those few days in which it controlled their own playoff destiny. The Ravens are now forced to watch and hope that the Pittsburgh Steelers suffer their own setback heading into next week's duel, where another battle against these Bengals await them on the other side in the most telling gauntlet of their season yet.