Game recap

Bengals @ Ravens

2026 Wk 7 · BAL 13, CIN 35

Shut out at the half, the Bengals scored five straight touchdowns as Burrow threw four.

FanIQ Research · October 25, 2026 · 7 facts, every one from the play-by-play

Shut out in the first half, Cincinnati scored 35. Five teams have done that since 1999, and none of the others won by more than 11.

Rare

Teams held scoreless in the first half that finished with 35+ points, 1999 to 2026

Season	Week	Team	Opp	Halftime	Final	Result
2003	5	IND	TB	0-21	38-35	Won by 3
2008	4	ARI	NYJ	0-34	35-56	Lost by 21
2012	6	DEN	LAC	0-24	35-24	Won by 11
2022	15	MIN	IND	0-33	39-36	Won by 3
2026	7	CIN	BAL	0-13	35-13	Won by 22

Every other team on this list was chasing a deficit of 21 points or more and spent the second half in a shootout. Cincinnati trailed by only 13, scored all 35 of its points after halftime, and held Baltimore to zero over the same 30 minutes. That turned a comeback into a 22 point win, double the next best margin on the list.

Why it matters. Big second half comebacks usually come with the winner giving points back, because the trailing team takes risks and the leader keeps scoring. Here the leader stopped scoring entirely, so all 35 points became margin. The table shows how unusual that is: the other four second half explosions finished at 3, 11, 3 points or a loss.

Baltimore is 86-3 since 1999 when leading by 13 or more at halftime. This was the third loss, and the first by more than 7.

Anomaly

Ravens with a 13+ point halftime lead, 1999 to 2026 (incl. postseason)

Games	Won	Lost
89	86	3

Every loss in that group

Season	Week	Type	Opp	Site	Halftime	Final
2010	Divisional	POST	PIT	Away	21-7	24-31
2022	2	REG	MIA	Home	28-7	38-42
2026	7	REG	CIN	Home	13-0	13-35

The two earlier collapses were late shootouts that Baltimore lost by 7 and by 4 while still putting up 24 and 38 points. This time the Ravens did not score after a 24 yard Tyler Loop field goal with 0:53 left in the second quarter, and they lost by 22 at home.

Why it matters. A 13 point halftime lead is close to a sure thing for this franchise, which is why only three games in 89 slipped away. The earlier two losses were offenses that kept scoring and lost a race. This one was an offense that stopped: no points, three sacks and an interception after the break, which points at the second half matchup rather than at late game variance.

Burrow threw four second half touchdowns to four different receivers after a scoreless first half. No other passer since 1999 has done it twice.

Rare

Passers with 0 first half TD passes, then 4+ in the second half to 4+ different receivers, 1999 to 2026

Season	Week	Type	Passer	Team	2nd half TD	Receivers
2007	7	REG	Sage Rosenfels	HOU	4	4
2009	Wild Card	POST	Aaron Rodgers	GB	4	4
2013	15	REG	Matt Flynn	GB	4	4
2014	14	REG	Matt Ryan	ATL	4	4
2016	16	REG	Russell Wilson	SEA	4	4
2022	15	REG	Joe Burrow	CIN	4	4
2022	15	REG	Kirk Cousins	MIN	4	4
2026	7	REG	Joe Burrow	CIN	4	4

Joe Burrow by half, this game

Half	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	Sacks
1st	6	12	43	0	1
2nd	16	18	249	4	0

The four scores went to Mike Gesicki, Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase and Drew Sample. Burrow finished 22 of 30 for 292 yards with no interceptions, and 249 of those yards came after halftime.

Why it matters. Spreading four touchdowns across four targets in one half means the defense could not take away a single option and solve the problem. Burrow has now done it twice in this shape, which says the second half version of this offense is a repeatable plan rather than a hot hand. A 16 of 18 half also means very few drives died on an incompletion.

Cincinnati's offense went from minus 0.28 EPA a play in the first half to plus 0.69 in the second. Baltimore's went the other way.

Split

Offense by half (pass and run plays)

Team	Half	Plays	Yards	EPA/play	Success%	Sacks	INT
CIN	1st	19	59	-0.279	31.6%	1	0
CIN	2nd	32	298	0.694	71.9%	0	0
BAL	1st	39	258	0.283	46.2%	1	0
BAL	2nd	26	101	-0.654	34.6%	3	1

Cincinnati ran only 19 offensive plays before halftime and gained 59 yards. After the break it ran 32 plays for 298 yards, and nearly three of every four were successful. Baltimore ran 39 first half plays for 258 yards, then managed 101 yards on 26 plays with three sacks and an interception.

Why it matters. A 0.97 EPA per play swing for one offense across halves is enormous, and the two lines crossed almost exactly at the break. A 71.9 percent success rate means Cincinnati stayed ahead of the chains on nearly every snap, which is why five touchdown drives came with no turnovers. On the other side, three of Baltimore's four sacks came after halftime, so the pressure moved with the game.

Down 13-0 at the half, Cincinnati scored touchdowns on five straight scoring plays, one of them 57 seconds after an interception.

Trend

Scoring plays

Qtr	Clock	Team	Play	Score after (BAL-CIN)
1	13:45	BAL	Huntley 48 yd pass to Flowers	7-0
2	9:46	BAL	Loop 34 yd field goal	10-0
2	0:53	BAL	Loop 24 yd field goal	13-0
3	9:28	CIN	Burrow 6 yd pass to Gesicki	13-7
3	4:33	CIN	Burrow 13 yd pass to Higgins	13-14
4	11:17	CIN	Perine 1 yd run	13-21
4	7:29	CIN	Burrow 2 yd pass to Chase	13-28
4	6:28	CIN	Burrow 16 yd pass to Sample	13-35

Cincinnati took the lead at 4:33 of the third quarter and never gave it back. The final touchdown came after Demetrius Knight Jr. intercepted Tyler Huntley at the Baltimore 38 with 7:25 left, and Burrow found Drew Sample 57 seconds of game clock later.

Why it matters. The order of these scores is the story: Baltimore's three scores came while Cincinnati's offense was barely on the field, and once the Bengals started moving, every possession that scored ended in the end zone. The interception at 7:25 turned a 15 point game into 22 in under a minute, which ended any chance of a Ravens answer.

Baltimore averaged 29.0 points in Lamar Jackson's four starts. In Tyler Huntley's three it has averaged 17.7.

Comparison

Ravens offense by week, 2026 (pass and run plays)

Week	Opp	Starter	Pts	EPA/play	Success%	Sacks
1	IND	Jackson	41	0.321	50.0%	2
2	NO	Jackson	17	0.116	63.6%	3
3	DAL	Jackson	34	0.134	50.0%	0
4	TEN	Jackson	24	0.166	44.1%	2
5	ATL	Huntley	30	0.038	47.2%	4
6	CLE	Huntley	10	-0.094	33.3%	3
7	CIN	Huntley	13	-0.092	41.5%	4

Grouped

Weeks	Plays	EPA/play	Success%
1 to 4	232	0.186	51.7%
5 to 7	194	-0.044	41.2%

Every one of Jackson's four games finished with positive EPA per play. Huntley's first start against Atlanta was positive, and the last two have both been below zero. Baltimore has been sacked 11 times in his three starts, against 7 in Jackson's four.

Why it matters. The drop is not about Huntley's passing volume, since he threw for 298 yards here. It is about drives that stall: the success rate has fallen by about ten points and the sack count has climbed, so the offense loses downs it used to keep.

Cincinnati's second largest win in Baltimore since 1999, and its second straight win there by 18 or more.

Milestone

Every Bengals win at Baltimore, 1999 to 2026, by margin

Season	Week	Score (CIN-BAL)	Margin
2021	7	41-17	24
2026	7	35-13	22
2025	13	32-14	18
2007	10	21-7	14
2005	9	21-9	12
2014	1	23-16	7
2015	3	28-24	4
2017	17	31-27	4
2009	5	17-14	3
2004	13	27-26	1

That is the full list of Cincinnati wins in Baltimore since 1999. Three of the four largest have come since 2021, including Week 13 last year.

Why it matters. Road wins in a division rival's building by three scores are rare in a series that has produced many one possession games. Two in a row by 18 or more suggests the matchup, not the venue, now drives these results. The teams meet again in Cincinnati in Week 17.

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