BALTIMORE – It looked like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase had done well against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

Throughout the prime-time matchup against their AFC North rivals, Cincinnati’s star quarterback and wide receiver came together for plays when the Bengals needed them most, including a late touchdown that put Cincinnati in position for the game winner.

But the Bengals ultimately fell one game short in a 35-34 loss to the Ravens. A failed two-point conversion with 38 seconds left squandered excellent performances from both players.

Burrow finished with 428 yards and four touchdowns on 34 of 56 passing. Chase had one of the best performances of his career: 11 catches, three touchdowns and 264 receiving yards. However, the efforts were not enough to prevent the Bengals from losing their second and final regular season game against the Ravens this season.

“They are the best duo in the league right now, and they show it every week,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “We just feel like we have to keep our goal going, and things could be very different. But things just haven’t gone our way this season.”

The Bengals (4-6) led 21-7 midway through the third quarter when Baltimore (7-3) created a huge break to get back into the game. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ripped the ball out of the Bengals and ran it back into Chase Brown’s hands. The Ravens regained the ball and went on a 21-0 run to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

But Burrow and Chase did just about everything to keep the Bengals in contention. One play after the Ravens took the lead, Burrow immediately responded with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Chase that tied the score at 28-28.

When the Ravens regained the lead with 1:49 left and Cincinnati needed a touchdown, Burrow leaned on Chase. At one point, Chase matched his career-high of 266 receiving yards set in 2021. However, a defensive penalty that Cincinnati accepted negated the play.

A few snaps later, Burrow found Chase for a five-yard touchdown pass in the final minute. Cincinnati’s two-point attempt for the potential game-winning points failed when a Burrow pass for tight end Tanner Hudson sailed a bit high. Burrow had no qualms about going for it.

“We knew the situation we were in,” Burrow said.

As for Burrow and Chase, who have played together six of the past seven seasons dating back to their college days at LSU, they had one of their best performances together. Chase was willing to defer to reporters when asked if Thursday night was at the top of that list.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Burrow and Chase had “incredible” performances.

“I thought Ja’Marr took a big step forward,” Taylor said. “Anytime we could find ways to get him the ball, I thought Joe did a great job. And Ja’Marr finished a lot of those plays for us. I thought they played great.”

But what happened on Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium was a microcosm of the season.

Entering Week 10, Burrow and Chase were enjoying two of the best seasons of their respective careers. Burrow was second in Total QBR, behind only Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who finished the game with 290 passing yards and four touchdowns. Chase was second in the league in receiving yards behind Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, their former teammate at LSU.

And when you put it into that lens, the fact that the Bengals are still under .500 through 10 games this season was confusing to Chase.

“It’s crazy to say that,” Chase said. “I would never, never in a million years, expect me to play that well and him to play that well and we still have a record like this.”

Additionally, Cincinnati also had the NFL’s leading sack leader, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, on Thursday night. That also increased the frustration.

“When you look at how we play and you look at Trey Hendrickson, how he plays, yeah, that’s a tough pill to swallow,” Burrow said after the game. “But we had our chances.

“It’s obviously difficult when you feel like you’re playing well enough to win and you’re not. But there’s always more to do.”