Purple Power Hour: Ravens emerge victorious in “The Jungle” after overtime shootout in Cincinnati

This season, Kirk and Marianne are joined by Ravens Legends Femi Ayanbedejo and Dennis Pitta every week to discuss Sunday’s game, plus everything else happening with the team and across the NFL - The Ravens made their way to Cincinnati for their first AFC North matchup of the season against the Bengals. The rivalry between these two teams has greatly heated up over the last few years since the introductions of quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, who have both become the faces of their respective franchises. These two divisional foes have a deep history of iconic battles with each other, but today’s bout just might be the greatest one yet. While the first half of the game was a high-octane affair, things mightily intensified after halftime. The second half was an outright slugfest that saw each team put up video game-like numbers, trading touchdowns and scoring on nearly every drive. After four quarters were played, overtime was needed to decide the winner. Baltimore appeared to be out of luck when Jackson fumbled a snap that handed the Bengals an attempt at a game-winning kick. Luckily, Cincinnati failed to cash in on the field goal, giving the Ravens new life. The purple and black didn’t let this opportunity slip away as they were able to set themselves up with a game-winning field goal of their own. Justin Tucker had the honor of splitting the uprights to push his team to victory in an unforgettable 41-38 triumph.

The Ravens began the game on offense. Baltimore gradually chipped away at the Bengals’ defense with running plays and short passes to move past midfield before the first big play of the game, a twenty-three-yard completion to Zay Flowers that spotted them inside the ten-yard line. It didn’t take long for the purple and black to finish this opening drive with a trip to the endzone as Derrick Henry did what he does best by plunging through a line of defenders for a one-yard touchdown run. Henry also joined the century club as the score marked his 100th career touchdown.