Not their best work as Ravens drop finale to Bengals, 27-10…

I think we expected a little more fight than the Ravens put up in a dismal effort at Cincinnati on Sunday. I guess there was a carryover effect from the heartbreaking loss to the Steelers the week before after all.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh called Sunday’s 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals the worst game his team has played all season. Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com wrote this obituary:

“The season finale was a brutally painful, 60-minute culmination of what went wrong in a season that began with such promise. It served as reminder after reminder of how the offense failed to finish drives, and the defense looked like a shell of its once-No. 1 self. Many players say this embarrassing loss will stay with them this offseason, but the longest-tenured player on the Ravens’ roster wants to make sure Baltimore (8-8) doesn’t feel this way again.”

“We have to address some issues,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We have to be honest with ourselves and address those issues if we don’t want to be on the outside looking in.”

Andy Dalton completed his first 10 passes, one of them for a touchdown, and Rex Burkhead ran for a pair of touchdowns on Sunday and Cincinnati beat Baltimore 27-10 for its fifth straight win at home over the Ravens.

The Bengals (6-9-1) missed out on the playoffs for the first time in six years, and haven’t won a playoff game in 26 years, the sixth-longest streak in NFL history. Coach Marvin Lewis — 0-7 in the postseason — says he’ll return in 2017.

Dalton was 18 of 28 for 226 yards. He topped 4,000 yards passing for the second time in his career, finishing with 4,206. The other time was 2013, when he set a club record with 4,293 yards.

“To me, he has had his best season,” Lewis said. “Unfortunately, as a team we haven’t.”

Baltimore (8-8) failed to reach the playoffs for the third time in four years. The Ravens played their final game with an emotional hangover from a last-minute loss at Pittsburgh last Sunday that eliminated them.

“For whatever reason — it’s hard to put your finger on it — our emotional level was not where it’s been in the past, and I think it has a lot to do with what happened last week,” coach John Harbaugh said. “It was definitely our worst game of the year as far as the way we played.”

Ravens receiver Steve Smith caught three passes for 34 yards in what he’s called the final game of his remarkable career. The 37-year-old receiver reiterated after the game that he plans to retire. Smith has 51 games with 100 yards receiving, tied for fourth most in NFL history.

Baltimore’s Justin Tucker had a 30-yard field goal, his 38th of the season, matching his club record. Only two kickers have made 40 field goals in a season — David Akers and Neil Rackers. … Joe Flacco was 32 of 49 for 267 yards with an interception in the end zone. He finished with 4,276 yards, topping Vinny Testaverde’s club record of 4,177 yards in 1996. Asked if the record meant anything to him, Flacco said, “Not really.”

Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley suffered an undisclosed injury to his upper leg/thigh region and had to leave the game.

Final:

Matchup
1st Downs	22	25
Passing 1st downs	14	13
Rushing 1st downs	7	10
1st downs from penalties	1	2
3rd down efficiency	8-16	1-8
4th down efficiency	1-3	0-0
Total Plays	70	67
Total Yards	335	371
Total Drives	11	11
Yards per Play	4.8	5.5

Baltimore Passing

Baltimore Rushing

Baltimore Receiving

Baltimore Defense