The Cincinnati Bengals were down 35-34 after scoring a touchdown with 38 seconds left in an AFC North battle with the Baltimore Ravens on ‘Thursday Night Football.’
Instead of kicking a tying extra point, the Bengals instead went for a two-point conversion in an attempt to take the lead. They came up short, though, as quarterback Joe Burrow’s pass to Tanner Hudson fell incomplete at the goal line and Cincinnati lost the game.
The Ravens had outscored the Bengals 28-20 in the second half, powered by three touchdown passes from Burrow to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. They could have gone for the kick in a play for overtime considering how well their offense was playing (470 yards on the night).
Why did the Bengals go for 2?
Bengals coach Zac Taylor was clear after the loss on his choice to go for the two-point conversion.
All things Bengals: Latest Cincinnati Bengals news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
‘Came here to win,’ he repeated before moving on to another question.
The announcers on the ‘Thursday Night Football’ broadcast guessed that he did not want to risk giving Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson a chance to win the game in overtime.
They also called out multiple potential missed penalties on the conversion attempt, including one for roughing the passer on Burrow and one for defensive holding on tight end Mike Gesicki.
‘You’re not gonna get those calls in that situation,’ Burrow said after the game. ‘I feel like I’ve never really gotten those calls, so I don’t expect that.’
He also explained what he saw from the Ravens’ defense on the conversion attempt.
‘They gave us zero presentation, edge droppers,’ he said. ‘So they had two hole players… I just sailed it a little bit.’
This is the second and final matchup between the Bengals and the Ravens this season. Their prior meeting went to overtime with the Ravens winning 41-38.
‘They’re a good football team,’ Taylor said. ‘But we expect to come here and win, and we did everything we could to do that. Doesn’t change the fact that I’m proud that everyone on that field fought and gave us a chance… sickening that this has happened twice to us.’
The Bengals head west to take on another AFC foe in the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11.