The Cincinnati Bengals had a huge game on Thursday night as they took on the Baltimore Ravens and left with a heartbreaking 35-34 loss.

It was a good night for some and a tough night for others in a game this team really needed but epically didn’t get.

Here are the winners and losers of the week 10 contest.

Winners

Ja’Marr Chase

Chase just has big games against the Ravens. After a relatively quiet first half, Chase did what he always seems to do and took a 67-yard pass to pay dirt. There were five Ravens near Chase, and it just didn’t matter. In the 4th quarter, after Baltimore took its first lead of the game, Chase hauled in a deep ball from Burrow for a 70-yard touchdown to take the air out of the stadium. Chase finished the game with 11 receptions for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.

Joe Burrow

When he returned to Baltimore, where he lost his 2023 season with a wrist injury, Burrow was his normal, calm self. He climbed into the pocket well all night, made good decisions along the way and took what the defense gave him. He threw for 428 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, despite essentially getting hit and driven into the turf all night.

Losers

Chase Brown

The Bengals had all the momentum until Brown’s fumble in the third quarter. From that point on, the floodgates opened for Baltimore, and the defense just couldn’t get it done. A fumble at their own 30 completely turned the game in Baltimore’s favor. The young running back will bounce back, but the impact of the fumble cannot be ignored.

Zac Taylor

Taylor with a lead is just scary right now. In two separate 3rd and 4th and short situations we saw deep shots down the field. Taylor apparently got tired of hearing about screens on the 4th and moved on to deep shots. The 4th down play in the 4th quarter led directly to Baltimore’s go-ahead goal. At some point this is up to your head coach and play caller. This game came down to two bad 4th down calls and a play designed to let Tanner Hudson win the game.

Cam Taylor-Britt

Taylor-Britt started strong, but had an extremely rough first half. A missed tackle in the open field on Tylan Wallace set him free for what would have been an 84-yard touchdown pass. With 5:26 left in the 4th quarter, he dropped what should have been an easy interception. With 1:49 left in the 4th quarter, Taylor-Britt was defeated by Rashod Bateman to give Baltimore the go-ahead goal. The swing in the second half took him from winner to loser on Thursday.

Lou Anarumo’s entire defense

After a phenomenal first half, we saw a complete meltdown in the second half. The offense certainly hasn’t done them any favors with fumbles and failed conversions, but the defense should be able to step up and bail them out at some point. Missed tackles have plagued this defense all season and they showed up again tonight. If several players miss tackles, you have to look at the man leading the defense.

Evan McPherson

It certainly feels like the coaching staff has lost confidence in McPherson. In years past, we’ve seen them send McPherson out for a 56-yard field goal without any hesitation. They passed on that chance on a failed 4th-down conversion several times on Thursday. It’s clear that this team no longer has the confidence in McPherson that it did before the 2024 season.