Bengals vs Ravens final score: Late touchdown keys 23-16 victory for Bengals

Underwhelming. That would be the word to describe the quarterback play in Sunday’s week 1 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Underwhelming, indeed.

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One imagines that those who were subjected to watching this entire “dual” between Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton have some more colorful words to describe what they witnessed. It was an ugly affair but a meaningful one in the big picture of the AFC North: in the end it was the Bengals who emerged by a final score of 23-16.

Flacco struggled throughout this game, but with the score 15-10 he had one throw to make, and that he did to new receiver Steve Smith for a long touchdown to take the lead.

Having also stumbled all over himself over the course of the game, Dalton responded with a long touchdown of his own to AJ Green. Just like that, a game that contained no offense whatsoever loosened up and saw some offense as the fourth quarter came to a close.

Flacco drove the Ravens down into the red zone in pursuit of the tying touchdown as the game wound down to its final seconds, but ultimately came up short after taking two sacks in a row. Those were his second worst moments of the game in terms of awareness, as he inexplicably let the clock run out at halftime but he could have thrown the ball away to set up a field goal. The Bengals deserve credit for generating some pressure on the QB when it mattered most.

Flacco’s final line was artificially inflated, as he went 35-for-62 for 345 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Dalton went 25-for-38 for 301 yards and one touchdown. Smith had a huge game receiving with 118 yards and that TD, with Green also blowing up on the other side of things to the tune of 131 yards and a TD.

Both defenses looked good. Both offenses looked shaky at best. In a manner representative of where these teams stand this season, ultimately it was the Bengals who made one more play on offense and came through with the win.

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