4 winners (and 2 losers) for Bengals in stunning Thanksgiving win over Ravens

Where was this team all season!? The Cincinnati Bengals got a second straight stellar effort from their defense, forced five turnovers, and Joe Burrow returned to beat the Ravens in Baltimore 32-14 on Thanksgiving.

In the lead-up to Week 13, I was writing about how frustrating it is that the Bengals have failed to play complementary football throughout most of 2025. Seems it's been that way the past two and a half seasons or so for that matter.

This merry holiday was a nice change of pace. I'm fired up to talk about more Bengals winners than losers for the first time in quite a while for this weekly piece.

Winner: Joe Burrow

With hindsight being 20/20, you do wonder whether Burrow coming back against the Patriots this past Sunday might've resulted in a different outcome. Nevertheless, what a welcome sight to see Joe Brrr back in action weeks before he was expected to play after turf toe surgery.

Burrow was gifted multiple takeaways deep in Ravens territory, yet he couldn't capitalize on either of them. Too often Cincinnati was settling for field goals. I had a growing sense of dread it'd come back to haunt the team.

Then the second half unfolded. Our guy Joey Franchise started getting his swag back. He diced up the Ravens as he's wont to do. Once he hit Andrei Iosivas on a 29-yard TD strike, Joe went nuclear:

I can't help but wonder about Burrow's words earlier this week and whether they resonated with the team. He recalled watching Thanksgiving football, and seeing Matthew Stafford throw for a zillion yards, only to lose all the time. Sounds painfully familiar.

Intentional dig at the defense or not, they responded in resounding, emphatic fashion. Like Burrow did to come back from yet another brutal injury.

Winner: Bengals defensive ends not named Trey Hendrickson

Look y'all. I call things like I see them. Cincinnati's defensive end rotation outside of the injured Trey Hendrickson has been a joke for several years now.

So many times in this space, I've called Joseph Ossai Waiting for Godot because he's the annual breakout candidate whose breakout never arrives. Myles Murphy, a 2023 first-round pick, admitted to a poor work ethic before the season and looked pretty bad about midway through.

Ossai and Murphy balled out on Thursday night. Two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson looked like a shell of himself. A big part of that was the push the defensive front was getting.

It feels so good to see this. I really didn't get the vision for sticking with these guys. They were straight-up terrible by NFL standards for so long. Somehow, Murphy finally seems to be clicking. Ossai is all of a sudden playing his way to a nice free-agent contract. probably with a new team if he keeps this up.

Loser: Zac Taylor's red zone play-calling

Bonus Winner: Evan McPherson

Not like Burrow deserves zero blame for some evident rust. Players do have to execute the plays at the end of the day. That said, head coach Zac Taylor was taking the least advantage possible of prime field position, and letting too many red zone opportunities go to waste.

The Bengals have actually ran the ball so well of late, yet the strategy near the goal line seemed to be putting Burrow in a one-dimensional offense and having him fit it into tight windows. It resulted in a lot of field goals. Too many to win against a team like the Ravens on a typical evening.

But hey, good on kicker Evan McPherson. Still mad at him for forgetting how to kick in 2024. Where were you last year, Money Mac!? We could've made some noise in the playoffs.

Anyway, McPherson's 6-for-6 night on field goals helped Cincinnati maintain the lead, when just one miss could've swung the whole momentum in the hosts' favor.

Winner: Al Golden

Apologies to Mr. Al Golden for taking so long to get here. Kind of apropos actually, because it took Golden too long to adjust his scheme to the terror he unleashed on MVP Lamar to spoil his Turkey Day.

Like for whatever reason, Golden seldom dialed up blitzes earlier in the season. He was content to just play Country Zone and get gashed repeatedly. This despite not having a good pass rush up front.

Now, Golden is calling more exotic pressures, where defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. is spot dropping in coverage, for instance. Mixing up alignments, tossing in simulated pressures, and being flat-out more aggressive on blitz calls has seemed to give the whole front seven far more confidence. Dudes are flying around and making plays everywhere.

It's not all perfect. Golden still has to work around the deficiencies of rookie linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter. Good news is, Golden looks like the right man for his job.

Loser: Mitch Tinsley

Unfortunately, Tee Higgins wasn't available for this one due to a concussion. His absence was glaring in the context of Mitch Tinsley's performance.

The former undrafted free agent flashed exceptional ability throughout the preseason and his prior cameos in the games that matter. Alas, he was off all night.

Tinsley changed his gait as Burrow tried to hit him for a would-be touchdown bomb. Failed to haul in another pass on the sidelines that hit him right in the numbers. Couldn't come up with another deep ball as he went to the ground with the catch.

Combine all that with Iosivas' clutch TD snag to help break the game open, and Tinsley's bid to be the WR3 of the future took a big hit on an otherwise mirthful occasion.

Winner: Bengals' pass blocking unit

Center Ted Karras was credited with two pressures allowed, but no one else on Cincinnati's offensive line surrendered a single one on 50 Burrow dropbacks, per PFF's live grades.

All five big men in the trenches were graded in the 80s or higher in pass blocking. Granted, Orlando Brown Jr. had two false start penalties and looked Jawaan Taylor-esque most of the evening for how early he was getting off the ball. But hey, if the refs don't call it every single time and you can get away with it, more power to you, Cincy OBJ!

It's nice to see that rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild looks to be a hit of a pick. Who would've thunk it. Draft a Georgia player at a position of need. What a concept!

The Bengals love to get too cute with the draft so often. Thank goodness Fairchild looks like a surefire starter. Love to see 2024 first-round pick Amarius Mims continue to hold it down at right tackle, too.

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