BALTIMORE _ Quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase put on two of the best performances in Bengals history here at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday night, but the Ravens overcame Burrow’s 428 yards and Chase’s three touchdowns when they held them on a two-point conversion with 38 seconds left in a 35-34 victory.

The Bengals have now lost to the top two teams in the AFC, the 7-3 Ravens and the undefeated Chiefs, by a total of five points in three games, all decided on the last play or in the last play of the last 38 seconds .

“It’s sickening,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said.

The Bengals had a 21–7 lead and the ball midway through the third quarter when running back Chase Brown lost a fumble at the Bengals 30 and Baltimore went on to score four consecutive touchdowns.

“Every time you play them, it’s a one-score game. Whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game,” Taylor said. “That’s what it came down to.”

But not before the tremendous efforts of Burrow and Chase allowed the Bengals to get the ball with 1:49 left and crawl to within 35-34 when Burrow made his fourth touchdown pass of the night and ninth in four days on a floater from threw five yards. that Chase got into a maze of two defensive backs in the right corner for his NFL-leading tenth touchdown catch.

“A cloud,” Chase said of the two-man coverage. “The security had an influence from within, I had a direct influence from within.”

Taylor was aggressive all night against the NFL’s No. 1 offense.

“We came here to win,” Taylor said.

From four fourth-down plays while eschewing field goals of 57 yards and 52 yards by Evan McPherson in the second half. So did Burrow, who threw deep incompletions on third-and-2 to Chase and fourth-and-2 to rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton with more than nine minutes remaining in a game the Bengals led 21-20.

Burrow somewhat overthrew both.

“I’d like to have them both back,” Burrow said. “I had Jermaine on a (go) route where I like him.”

To go for two after a brilliant 70-yard drive in 1:11, there was another big play from the incomparable Chase, a 21-yarder on a 264-yard night, two yards shy of his Bengals record. He already came into the game as the only player in history with multiple 160-yard receiving games against the Ravens.

“We just know what they have on offense,” Burrow said. “That was the mentality. To be aggressive.”

Chase said he was open for the two-pointer (“I’m always open… Sometimes Joe doesn’t see it.”) and Burrow said with Chase on the back end he never got him in his progression. As the edge rushers fell, Burrow had gaps at the goal line and passed to his first read, tight end Tanner Hudson.

“I kind of sailed with it,” said Burrow, who was lethal most of the night despite taking 13 hits while completing 34 of his 56 passes for a 108 passer rating, which his season average is among the league leaders.

It’s the second-most attempts of his career and the most since the second game of his rookie year in 2020.

On the two-pointer, it appeared that Mike Gesicki was mauled in the gap opposite Hudson and defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike got his hand on Burrow’s face mask.

“You don’t expect to get those calls at that time,” Burrow said.

“They made one more play than us and that’s the story of this season’s tape,” center Ted Karras said. “I think we left some things behind. Ultimately, we made some mistakes. They didn’t.”

STORY OF TWO D’s: The Bengals defense played its best ball of the season in the first half, holding the Ravens’ No. 1 offense to 102 yards for their lowest output in a first half since 2022 and passing Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for 71 yards and seven points for a 14-7 halftime lead.

Slot cornerback Mike Hilton closed out the half, sending Jackson storming to the locker room as he ripped off his helmet. His downhill tackle prevented wide receiver Diontae Johnson from going out of bounds and stopped the clock so kicker Justin Tucker could attempt one of his bombs.

But the Ravens exploded for over 300 yards in the second half as Jackson ran and threw like the reigning MVP that he is. He had to be great to beat Burrow and he was. He was not fired and was hit once. His stunning 141 passer rating and four touchdown passes included a game-changing 84-yard touchdown pass that was wide receiver Tylan Wallace’s first career touchdown catch and first catch of the season as he evaded three tackles down the left sideline.

“That was probably the killer,” Hilton said after the Bengals got the inside-the-10 kick they wanted from Ryan Rehkow. “He didn’t do anything special. He made a play and we didn’t.”

Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who had two passes defensed and a tackle for loss, just missed a diving interception as the clock ticked under five minutes in a 28-28 game.

“Lamar is scratching. He’s playing a lot. You’ve got to patch it up,” Taylor-Britt said. “Especially (tight end) Mark Andrews is coming back and playing like himself. He’s the No. 1 guy. I just watched him and I’m trying to make a play.”

In addition to playing, Taylor-Britt was also one of the guys who couldn’t get Wallace.

“Quick play. You have to line up and get tackles. If you miss tackles, it’s a touchdown,” Taylor-Britt said. “I had to find a way to finish it… We had to match the turnover battle.”

HAGUE AGAIN I: Chase stunned the Ravens again with another long catch-and-run touchdown. This came on their first shot of the second half and it was pretty basic after Burrow hit a vintage climb into the pocket. He stepped up and drilled it into Chase, cutting down the middle from left to right. And no one touched him as he continued to run right down the sideline, racing away from linebacker Trenton Simpson and safety Marcus Williams for a 67-yard touchdown that made it 21-7.

It was on the same field that Chase completed the longest play of his career as a rookie in 2021, an 82-yard catch-and-run touchdown. It also came a month after Chase collected a 70-yard screen for a touchdown against the Ravens at Paycor Stadium.

It was the 11^e career touchdown catch that went at least 60 yards, the most ever by a Bengal that broke Ring of Honor member Isaac Curtis’ record. It is also the most in the NFL since 2021. He also has the most of 40 (15) and 50 (11), and this was his longest since a 33-yarder in New York on October 13.

“They played a lot of coverage and I moved around a lot,” Chase said. “There was a hole in the dagger (route over the middle)… and I attacked the ball.”

PURSUIT AGAIN II: Chase and Burrow continued to attack big time. No sooner had the Ravens taken a 28-21 lead on Jackson’s 18-yard touchdown pass and his own two-pointer on an option dance with 5:50 left, they tied the lead 13 seconds later when Chase hit his second 70-yarder against the Ravens caught. this year. This time it was a beautiful Burrow ball on the post against a quarter defense.

“The safety got on my side. As soon as he goes down, I’m going to go post,” Chase said.

Chase is 12^e 60-yarder was also historic. He is now tied with Homer Jones for most 60-yard touchdown catches.

This year we played some exciting matches. All close games,” Chase said. “We just have to find a way to finish.”