Ravens fall behind by 21 points, lose to Bengals

CINCINNATI — As Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco took the field early in the second quarter Thursday night, it was hard to say which was more daunting: the past, the present or the possibility of a bright near future.

For as long as he has led the franchise in Baltimore, Flacco has struggled against the Cincinnati Bengals. Now linebacker C.J. Mosley, the quarterback of their defense, had left the game with a bone bruise. What hope was there for a happy ending with Flacco’s history of inefficiency, Mosley’s absence and, maybe worst of all, the team’s 21-0 deficit in hostile AFC North territory?

Hope did arrive, on the backs of an improved Flacco and a resilient but depleted defense, both sparking a Ravens rally. But in the team’s last gasp, Flacco could not deliver the excellence he had supplied in abundance just days earlier.

His fumble on a third-down sack with 2:52 remaining and the Ravens needing a score was one mistake too many in a 34-23 loss, the team’s 11th loss in 14 games in Cincinnati (2-0) under coach John Harbaugh. He finished 32-for-55 for 376 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a performance that offered no measure of redemption for Tyler Boyd’s dagger-in-theheart, last-minute catch in last season’s Week 17 loss to the Bengals, which extended the team’s playoff absence to three years.

Four days earlier, Flacco was happy to idle on the sideline in the fourth quarter, watching the backups play the Buffalo Bills as they coasted toward the franchise’s thirdhighest margin of victory. When it mattered late Thursday, he ran the offense the way he likes — fast — and often found his receiver who fits that description: John Brown.

His first completion in a drive that got the Ravens within a score was to the free-agent signing. His last was a pinpoint 21-yard throw to Brown, who climbed over cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick in the near corner of the end zone for a touchdown that seemed to deaden the announced 50,018 in Paul Brown Stadium. A failed 2-point conversion kept the Ravens at arm’s length, down 28-23.

But they could not hold off the Bengals’ stalled offense for long. A crucial third-down penalty on cornerback Tavon Young averted a three-and-out for Cincinnati, and they marched downfield with much of the precision they had earlier. A field goal by Randy Bullock extended the Bengals’ lead to eight with just under three minutes remaining.