Ravens Leave Bengals Loss With Several Injuries

"Nate's injury is not serious in terms of [being] a long-term injury," Harbaugh said. "I don't know if it'll be next week or what; We will have to see where that goes."

Wiggins has emerged as not only the Ravens' best cornerback but one of the rising young stars at the position in the entire league this season. He leads the team with a career-high 3 interceptions and has often drawn and requested the assignment of following the opposing team's No. 1 wide receiver since Week 6. Before leaving the game, he had some impressive 1-on-1 reps against Bengals All Pro wideout Ja'Marr Chase, including one of his 2 pass deflections that came in the red zone to force a short field-goal attempt.

In his absence, the Ravens turned to a rotation of ninth-year veteran Chidobe Awuzie and fellow second-year pro T.J. Tampa to finish the game, and both were able to make some plays but also gave up some in crucial situations.

"It hurts a lot. Nate is one of the guys that just brings the energy," Awuzie said. We all kind of rally behind him, especially when he gets it going. He can definitely turn up the whole team, so we're definitely going to be praying for him for a speedy recovery. Hopefully, it's not too serious, and he's back on the field soon."

Awuzie possesses a lot of experience with 86 career starts, including five with the Ravens this year, and has stepped up when they've needed him two times when four-time Pro Bowl veteran Marlon Humphrey has missed time. He tied Wiggins for the team lead in pass breakups against the Bengals with a pair of his own. If Wiggins has to miss next week's home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, they still have enough top-end talent and depth in the secondary to handle Pro Bowler D.K. Metcalf and the rest of their archrivals' lackluster receiving corps.

Harbaugh's update on rookie linebacker Chandler Martin was far less encouraging. The undrafted first-year pro suffered what his head coach described as a "more serious knee injury." Martin went down on the opening kickoff of the game and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.

This is another tough blow for the Ravens' special teams unit as Martin had been filling in quite well for injured rookie off-ball linebacker Jay Higgins, who went on short-term injured reserve with a minor knee injury two weeks ago.

Underrated offensive weapon avoids major injury

Prior to the game, the Ravens announced the placement of a pair of veterans to injured reserve , with defensive tackle Taven Bryan being an expected move after Harbaugh foreshadowed it earlier in the week following a knee injury the former first-round pick suffered against the New York Jets in Week 12. However, running back Justice Hill popped up on the injury report with a neck injury on the second day of practice and had already been ruled out before being put on the shelf for a minimum of four games.

"He had a neck thing that was kind of bothering him, and all of a sudden, it caused some issues," Harbaugh said. "They went and looked at it, and he's a disc issue. It's going to keep him out for a few weeks."

As unfortunate as it is that Hill has to miss any amount of time, thankfully, it isn't for an extended period. Injuries of any kind involving the neck can be scary and potentially career-threatening, as the Ravens have learned with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike.

Hill's absence was most noticeable when it came to pass protection, as he is the best blocker of anyone in the Ravens backfield. They struggled to account for and pick up the Bengals' blitzes in the stunning upset. They still got good production out of Pro Bowl starter Derrick Henry and third-year pro Keaton Mitchell in the running and passing game with a combined 135 yards and 2 touchdowns from scrimmage.