BALTIMORE _  The last time the Bengals were here in the light of day five years ago, it was "The Calling Card Game."

Call Sunday's 35-13 victory over the Ravens The Wakeup Call Game. At 4-2, the Bengals stayed current in the wild AFC North and shot ahead of the 4-3 Ravens.

"The sun was shining in Baltimore today," said center Ted Karras after the Bengals' first day game here since that 2021 game where a young Joe Burrow and rookie Ja’Marr Chase logged their first big win in that 41-17 mastery of the Ravens.

Chase has certainly grown up.

After the Bengals went into halftime running just 15 plays and trailing, 13-0 to the Lamar-less Ravens, the Bengals exploded for a 35-0 finish after the All-Pro wide receiver's halftime explosion earned him praise from head coach Zac Taylor for his leadership.

They're only the 10th team ever to follow a scoreless first half with 35 points in the last 30 minutes.

"I was pretty angry at how we played," said Chase, who had one of Burrow's four touchdown passes and a 30-yard YAC that was the beginning of the end as the Bengals led, 21-13, and Chase putting the finishing touches on a hard-earned 62 yards.

"We had opportunities. Joe was getting too much pressure. I was screaming for somebody to make a play for us, and I was saying the defense can't keep being out there. We've got to step up our (bleep) and make it work."

The guy who made the plays in the last 30 minutes was wide receiver Tee Higgins as he kept his career season going. He converted the first huge third down of the first drive of the second half on his way to a 148-yard game after a 157-yard performance in Week 4 against Jacksonville.

All in Sunday's second half.

"He's been doing it all year," Burrow said. "He's been so aggressive and as good as I've seen him in contested-catch situations, and he understands what we're trying to do and the plays that we're calling, and he's just made some big-time plays for us."

More Burrow

Burrow had a little fun with the NFL schedule-makers after the last few Mays of wondering why the '21 game has been the Bengals' last non-prime time game here.

"We've had success in the clear light of day here," said Burrow when asked what he saw in the clear light of day. "The purple seats look a little less cool in the daytime than they do at night. I love playing here at night. I love playing here. This is one of my favorite places to play. Their fans are great and passionate, and that's why I love doing what I do."

Here may be the biggest difference between halves. The Bengals finally got the Ravens out of that two deep-shell with some good work on first and second down. That's why Taylor shouted out running back Chase Brown for some dash-and-spins at the line of scrimmage on some passes and runs.

It set up Chase's YAC and Higgins burning of cornerback Nate Wiggins on the 43-yard go.

"They played  (two-deep) all game and they play it really well, and they present some challenging looks," Burrow said. "In the first half, it felt like we were playing a third-down defense the entire first half, and that's really hard. We were able to get them out of that in the second half by staying in front of the chains ... being efficient on early downs, and that's what you have to do against a defense like that, otherwise it's going to be a long day."

"It was a great call. Tee made a great play, Ran a great route, and we have to find more ways to do that."

Slants and Screens

Burrow, who came out smoking on 16-of-18 for 249 yards after one of the worst first halves of his career (six of 12, 43 yards) didn't let up in the fourth quarter, rolling at 21-13. After the YAC to Chase, Burrow followed it with a sweet 43-yard go ball to Higgins to set up the fourth touchdown at 28-13.

"We know who we have to be," Burrow said. "We've got too many great players on offense not to be aggressive."…

It was bandied about as sackmaster Trey Hendrickson's first game against his old team, the Bengals. It turned out to be Boye Mafe, the free agent signed to replace Hendrickson, making his debut in the series with two sacks.

"We kept fighting," Mafe said. "We didn't really change the way we were playing in the second half. We've got great coaches and they put us in the right positions." …

Hendrickson hit Burrow twice, but he didn't sack him. Take a bow Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. In fact, Burrow got sacked just once.

"That's who we are," Brown said of the second half. "We came out slow. We weren't talking to each other and jumping around. We were standing around and then it changed.

"The overall physicality and our overall violence. To me, no matter what level of football it is, from little league to the NFL, the most violent and physical team always wins. That second half was a really large display of that ... To me, that was the biggest difference." ...

Karras got a little perturbed when asked about any first-half adjustments. After all, Burrow was 3-for-9 before the two minute-warning, they had 24 yards on 19 plays and missed four third downs out of six.

But pretty plain to him.

"Nothing really changed, guys," insisted Karras. "We ran (19) plays in the first half. We played more football is what changed. There's nothing to adjust. We ran (15 plays). We've had some panic moments here in Baltimore, but not today." ….

It was the kind of win where Taylor declared a game ball for everbody. But punter Ryan Rehkow got to be in the post-game celebration shoutout with all four of his punts going inside the 20. And his first two on the first two series simply kept things sane when he pinned the Ravens at the 3 and the 6 ...

That's six games, no touchbacks ...

As he did all week, Hendrickson kept it pretty vanillia in the postgame.

"Credit to them," Hendrickson said. "They made plays. It's the National Football League, and we have a lot to correct in the second half there."  ,,,

Speaking of sacks, rookie edge Cashius Howell got his first NFL drop with a shoestring tackle of Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley.

"I've been waiting for it. He's been rushing his ass off all year. And just to see that, that's a proud moment for me. Man, he works hard," said Mafe, rapidly become a leader in that room ...

Anyone counting? Mafe has five sacks this season, Hendrickson two.

"We trust in each other. We know on the offensive side of the ball what they can do and who they are," Mafe said. "They know on the defensive side of the ball who we are, too. So, just trusting each other and just knowing that we're going to figure it out. At the end of the day, we have enough playmakers to make it happen.

""I feel confident. I feel comfortable. The coaches trust me."