Five years and a day to the day is not only the last time the Bengals played the Ravens in the Baltimore daylight before enduring four straight primetime games in Edgar Allen Poe's "Dream-land," that is anything but.
Oct. 24, 2021 is also "The Calling Card Game," where sophomore quarterback Joe Burrow and freshman wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase teamed up for the first of their many monster days in a 41-17 win at M&T Bank Stadium that shook the foundations of the AFC North.
The Ravens' Lamar Jackson, who had quarterbacked three of the last four North titles, had never lost to the Bengals and brought Baltimore in at 5-1. Burrow had the Bengals at 4-2 after his rookie year had been cut short by injury, and by the end of the day Burrow and Chase had career days of 416 yards passing and 201 yards receiving, respectively, and the Bengals were in first place and on the way to the Super Bowl.
"I think that was a big, big turning point in all of our careers," Burrow said this week. "We earned some respect that day and kept it. Hoping to go out and make plays like we did that day."
Or, as wide receiver Tee Higgins said, "I think at the time, '21, 'Yeah, we got some guys on the Bengals,' and it showed that the rest of the year."
But Higgins reminds, "It's 2026, not 2021," and Burrow says, "That was a long time ago."
How long? None of the specialists or defensive players were on that team and only five players, Burrow, Chase, Higgins, running back Samaje Perine and tight end Drerw Sample, are left.
Still, those are five key players. And if you ask Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher about that day, they light up about the same thing.
How it ended.
They expanded a 27-17 lead to 41-17 with 13 straight runs in the last 12 minutes. Two of them were a 21-yard touchdown run by running back Joe Mixon and a 46-yard touchdown run Perine with more than six minutes left and got Jackson lifted for the rest of the day in favor of Tyler Huntley.
"We introduced seven-man protection," Taylor said. "I remember a lot about that week. Samaje had a big run at the end of the game. That was the last time I think I've seen daylight in Baltimore. So yeah, this feels a little different."
It is a game that still means something around here.
That was the game the Ravens insisted cornerback Marlon Humphrey could cover Chase one-on-one. That hasn't happened very often since. And, while Humphrey is as solid as it gets as he plays in his 16th game against the Bengals, it probably won't happen often Sunday.
"But that was really before anybody had any respect for us at the time, and people played us that way, so we had to go and earn our respect," Burrow said.
It's the kind of road win the 3-2 Bengals know they need now against the Ravens, one of three AFC North teams at 4-2.
"I think that was a significant one for us to win there, which we hadn't done in two years," said Taylor, then in his third season. "It was probably at the point in the year where it was good to get a win like that (for) our guys to verify the confidence they had. We thought we were a good team and it kind of solidified that for us. Now we had to go play a bunch of other games after that. That was a big game for us back then. That was one of the bigger games I think we've ever won in my time."
They hope they're saying the same type of thing Sunday in Baltimore when the sun is going down.
"I always love playing the Ravens," Burrow said. "You know what kind of game it's going to be, and it's going to be a test."
Another Change Game
Long before the Bengals had "The Calling Card Game," Baltimore was the scene of another generational shift in Bengals history.
Dec. 5, 2004. Quarterback Carson Palmer led a 24-point fourth quarter that caught the Ravens at the gun, 27-26, and set the stage for the 2005 AFC North title run.
They stunned the Ray Lewis-Ed Reed-Terrell Suggs Hall of Fame defense on 171 yards from wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and 161 more from wide receiver Chad Johnson, while Palmer punctuated his 382 yards and 81% passing by catching Reed looking at a third strike he whipped to Johnson for a red-zone touchdown.
"I remember that game vividly," Houshmandzadeh said Friday. "Chad was going off early in the game, and they started to double-team him, and I started to go off and they really had no answers."
By the time '05 rolled around, Palmer broke the single-season Bengals passing record, Johnson took the receiving record, and running back Rudi Johnson the rushing record.
"That (game was) kind of the launch pad or spring board that we could become one of the best offenses, and I think we pretty much were one of the best offenses in the league in '04, '05, '06.
"Those three, four, five years, there's a lot of people that became Bengals fans because of that … The Ravens were always a great defensive team. For me and Chad to combine for close to 350 yards combined, nobody was doing that against the Baltimore Ravens. Who's doing the Baltimore Ravens like that?"
After Shayne Graham's field goal went through to end it, Bengals center Rich Braham said after the game that he turned around to shake hands with the Ravens, but he said they had left the field.
"They're not used to losing," Houshmandzadeh said.
This week, Houshmandzadeh the podcaster called a Bengals' win for Sunday. No matter who plays quarterback for the Ravens.
"They're not going to beat us," Houshmandzadeh said. "And because the division is so good, we can't afford to lose, and I think the guys know that."
Slants and Screens
Five years later, and it could be Jackson or Huntley Sunday with Jackson (ankle) listed as questionable after going through the week limited …
Bengals safety Bryan Cook said earlier in the week that he planned on Jackson playing until he heard something differently. He and the Bengals haven't.
"We talk about Lamar and even if it's Huntley, the quarterback run for Baltimore can be explosive and dangerous," said defensive coordinator Al Golden way back on Monday …
After Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis dinged the Bengals last week on some long runs, Golden made pocket play a point of emphasis this week.
"I thought we got sloppy with the pass rush a couple times there and let him out," Golden said. "That's one of the things that we have to improve coming off the bye. Just keeping the quarterback in the pocket and making sure we don't have explosive scrambles." …
Chase had his elbows celebration fine rescinded, but don't look for him to do it again.
"I don't think they're going to let us. It's too many opinions on the celebration," Chase said. "But I'm just happy that I get a chance to get an opportunity to win my money back." …
