Dropped passes + poor decision making + 62 passes usually = Loss … And it did! Bone-headed choice by Dean Pees to not assign Jimmy Smith exclusively on AJ Green. Chykie Brown couldn’t cover a corpse with a blanket. – Tony Lombardi
Unreal. The Ravens’ offense starts clicking and the defensive gives it up. 2013 all over again. – Paul Lukoskie
Start playing before the second half. – Brian McFarland
Shades of the 2013 Ravens were on full display today. The defense had no teeth and gave up another 4th quarter lead. They also didn’t make any plays. The offense sputtered out of their base set and the running game was non-existent until they went to the shotgun. The Bengals showed the misdirection, motion, and quick passing game we expected from the Ravens in the opener. – Dev Panchwagh
It really felt like the Ravens picked up right where they left off in 2013. An offense that couldn’t move the ball against a high school defense, and a bend but don’t break defense in the first half. An offense with a sense of urgency and finally gets efficient, and a defense that gives up big plays in the second half. If they can’t figure out how to play a complete game, we’ll witness another mediocre season. – Ryan Jones
Not many positives to take away from this one. Questionable play calling (over 60 pass attempts for Flacco!!!) and the fact that Pierce was in the doghouse for much of the game didn’t help. Still fought to the end; good to have a healthy Dennis Pitta in the pass attack again. Ricky Wagner looked OK throughout but almost singlehandedly ruined any chance of the offense scoring on the last possession. Overall, far from a positive start to the year for a team that will be in a tight bind if it drops Thursday’s game to the Steelers. –Kyle Casey
Too little too late as the offense sputtered out of the gate in their season opening loss to the Bengals. Costly turnovers and dropped passes and boneheaded quarterback play tell the story as the Ravens had the Bengals on the ropes late but were unable to deliver a final blow. The Ravens defense and more importantly their secondary withstood the test of Dalton and company right up until Pees left Chykie out to dry by having him cover Green. Lots of work to do on a short week. – Brian Bower
Credit the defense for bending but not breaking early, but they could have helped their own cause by figuring out how to get a stop BEFORE Cincinnati reached field goal range. Of course, the awful offense did them no favors, from fumbles, to errant passes, to dropped balls left and right. Joe was off (and the play at the end of the first half was 100% indefensible), but Torrey Smith, Steve Smith, and Jacoby Jones all dropped passes that could have changed the game early, (Steve & Torrey atoned later). Justin Forsett showed good burst after Bernard Pierce hit the doghouse following an early fumble. A valiant comeback was thwarted by Dean Pees’ defense – just like last year – being unable to come up with a stop late. Allowing Chykie Brown to cover A.J. Green is absolutely ridiculous. – Derek Arnold
A tale of two halves, as the Ravens offense came alive in the 2nd half. But Flacco and the offensive line couldnt pull it out at the end. Defensively it was the same as last year, with a bend but dont break approach until the big play in the 4th. – Joe Polek
Joe Flacco is doing his Mike Pagel impersonation. – Kurt Backert
It was a brutal first half for the Baltimore Ravens, with the Bengals controlling the action. Baltimore’s Offense / Defense / ST’s all not showing well. That decision making from Flacco to end the half, was as poor of a play as he’s made in his career. Overcoming that horrific start, and finding a way to get back into the game was good to see; but the bottom-line is that the Ravens lost an important game at home to a divisional foe. – Chris Stoner
This team will improve. A lot of good signs project to a big season. – Joe Wedra
How does the visitor come into your building and dictate the game to you? All three phases of the Ravens’ game were poor in the first half. Justin Forsett was a bright spot, but he was on the field because of Bernard Pierce’s ineffectiveness. I don’t ever want to see Joe Flacco attempt 62 passes. Too little, too late for the Ravens. – Mike Fast
Joe Flacco looked horrible to start the game and the offense continued to look bad the entire game. His one good throw was on the rollout across his body to Steve Smith. Other than that, he looked bad. Very bad. And I’m a huge Flacco guy. – Tyler Lombardi
