Jackson, Ravens grind out win on ground

Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson tries to break free from Bengals defensive back Darqueze Dennard on a run in the first half. Jackson rushed for 117 yards and passed for 150 in his first NFL start.

That created an opening for Jackson, the 32nd overall pick in the NFL draft.

But Jackson missed practice Thursday with a stomach ailment that led to a trip to the hospital, where he was treated and released. Then, sleep eluded him Saturday night.

“I think I stayed up all night,” Jackson said. “I was ready to play last night.”

Down 21-13 in the second half, Baltimore rallied to hand the Bengals (5-5) their fourth loss in five games.

Edwards, an undrafted rookie free agent, scored on

an 11-yard run and barreled in for the conversion late in the third quarter. Jackson then directed a 55-yard drive that ended with a field goal by Justin Tucker with 8:12 remaining.

Cincinnati’s Randy Bullock missed a potential tying 52-yard field goal with 3:59 left, and Andy Dalton’s fourth-down pass from the Baltimore 37-yard line with 1:42 to go was knocked away by Marlon Humphrey.

“I definitely thought we were going to go down there, we were going to score and win the game,” Dalton said.

This was a tough defeat for the Bengals,

who were soaring at 4-1 in October but now stand at .500 for the first time after letting Jackson run rampant.

“We weren’t able to get him stopped enough,” said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Monday after the unit allowed 500 yards in three straight games, an NFL record in the Super Bowl era. Lewis took control of the defense, which was better this time around despite allowing 265 yards rushing.

“I thought they played hard,” Lewis said of his defense. “I thought they played better and did a good job on assignments.”

Jackson ran 10 times for 64 yards and five first downs, Alex Collins scored on a 7-yard run to cap the opening drive, and the Ravens took a 13-7 halftime lead when Tucker drilled a 56-yard field goal.

It all came apart for Baltimore in the third quarter. Jackson threw his first NFL interception, a pick by Shawn Williams, whose 22-yard return set up Dalton’s 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt Lengel for a 14-13 lead.

On the next series, Jackson was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 45. Dalton turned the gamble into a touchdown, hitting John Ross for a 22-yard score.