Joe Burrowmade his highly anticipated return from his turf toe injuryThursday night in Baltimore. Aside from dealing with first-half red-zone issues, the Cincinnati Bengals' offense hummed with the two-time NFL Comeback Player of the Year at quarterback.
That wasn't surprising. What was, however, was the elevated play of the Bengals' defense. Cincinnati, who entered Thanksgiving dead last in the NFL by allowing 32.7 points per game allowed and tallying total of 10 takeaways in 11 games, turned the Ravens over five times in a 32-14 win that shoved Baltimore (6-6) out of first place in the AFC North.
The 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the driver's seat, while the Bengals (4-8) are hanging on to slim odds to make another second-half push for the postseason with Burrow leading the charge.
Burrow, whohad toe surgery on Sept. 19, wore a carbon fiber plate in his left cleat, which he took off in between series to put on a more comfortable sneaker. He finished 24-of-46 passing with 261 yards and two touchdowns to his name.
BURROW FINDS LOSIVAS FOR A 29-YARD TD 🔥Bengals take the lead 26-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter 👀(via@NFL)pic.twitter.com/rJkKEbuDrT
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports)November 28, 2025
Cincinnati had lost four in a row and eight of its last nine games. It turned to Jake Browning and then 40-year-old Joe Flacco to make up for its defensive deficiencies in Burrow's absence. But with Burrow back, the Bengals' defense served up its most impressive performance of the season against Lamar Jackson and a Ravens team that rode into the divisional showdown on a five-game win streak.
Thursday marked the third straight game Jackson has played inafter missing a practice earlier in the week with a lower-body injury. He'sdealt with knee, ankle and toe issues of late, but he also missed three games in October with a hamstring strain. While Jackson showed more playmaking pizzaz than he had in recent weeks, especially early on, he went 17 of 32 with 246 yards and an interception. He's now gone three straight games without a touchdown pass.
Jackson lost two of the Ravens' three first-half fumbles. The first one of those was created by defensive end Joseph Ossai, who clocked out with two sacks. He stripped Jackson at the Baltimore 6-yard line in the opening frame.
Jackson's second fumble also occurred deep in Ravens territory but late in the second quarter. He lost his grip on the ball as he pulled it back toward him, and the Bengals recovered it at the Ravens' 19-yard line.
In between Jackson's gaffes, Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely fumbled through the back of the end zone. Just before the goal line, Cincinnati safety Jordan Battle swiped at Likely's arm and jarred the ball loose.
The Bengals, though, scored just six points off Ravens first-half giveaways. Most notably, they came away empty-handed after having first-and-goal from the Baltimore 2-yard line in the wake of the Ossai strip-sack.
Cincinnati's fourth takeaway arrived early in the fourth quarter. Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy tipped Jackson's red-zone pass, and linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. caught the fluttering ball for an interception he returned 39 yards to his own 47-yard line.
The Bengals went on to add the fifth of six Evan McPherson field goals. He made kicks of 31, 42, 24, 33, 52 and 41 yards.
Burrow tossed both of his touchdowns in the third quarter. Tight end Tanner Hudson stuck out his left mitt for a one-handed, 14-yard scoring grab. Later in the period, Burrow saw wideout Andrei Iosivas matched up with Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith and fired a 29-yard strike to Iosivas for six.
Down the stretch, the Bengals turned the Ravens over on downs once and forced one more turnover for good measure. As fans piled out of M&T Bank Stadium, Bengals cornerback Jalen Davis ripped the ball from the possession of Ravens receiver Zay Flowers.
Flowers wasnotably called for a controversial offensive pass interference penaltythat wiped his 36-yard touchdown reception off the board late in the second quarter when the Bengals were up 9-7.
The Ravens hadn't hadn't lost four fumbles in a game since Week 10 of the 2007 season, according to the NBC broadcast. That game also came against the Bengals.
Baltimore slugged its way through a more forgiving part of its schedule to get over .500 this past weekend. But an already clunky Ravens offense made far too many mistakes versus an unusually opportunistic Bengals defense on the night of Burrow's return.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: Bengals 32, Ravens 14
Cincinnati pulls off the biggest surprise of Thanksgiving with an emphatic win in Baltimore. Ravens turn it over 5 times and fall out of the tie for the AFC North lead, now 1/2 game behind the Steelers.
Yahoo Sports Staff
ANOTHER Ravens turnover!
Make that FIVE turnovers on the night for Baltimore. Zay Flowers has the ball stripped away after making a catch. Bengals' DJ Turner II jumps on it and that will just about wrap things up here with under 4 minutes to play.
There's still a sliver of hope for the Ravens, who scoop up a fumble by Bengals RB Samaje Perine. Travis Jones forced and recovered the fumble at the Bengals 16. 5:01 to play.
DT Travis Jones rips it away and lands on it! Can the Ravens capitalize?
Baltimore drove to about midfield but Lamar Jackson's pass is knocked away on 4th and 8. The Bengals' defense comes up with another big stop, and they get the ball back with 7:56 to play. Time is running out for Baltimore.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Bengals add a FG
Cincinnati gets some points off the turnover as Evan McPherson drills his 5th field goal of the game to extend the lead.
Bengals 29, Ravens 14
Yahoo Sports Staff
This performance is out of nowhere for Bengals D
Crazy things happen in division rivalry games.
The #Bengals D had four turnovers in the last 6 games
4 tonight alone.
This is Baltimore's first 4-turnover game since 2022 and just the fourth of the Lamar Jackson era (2018-present)
Bengals turn Ravens over for 4th time; LB Demetrius Knight Jr. intercepts tipped pass, returns pick 39 yards
The Ravens have now committed four turnovers tonight. Lamar Jackson is responsible for three of them.
While in the red zone, following Derrick Henry's 44-yard catch and run, Jackson's third-and-9 pass was tipped and then intercepted by linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., who returned it 39 yards to the Cincinnati 47-yard line.
Picked by Demetrius Knight Jr. for a 4th Baltimore turnover
Ravens aren't done yet...Derrick Henry rumbles for 44 yards into Bengals territory on final play of 3rd quarter
Ravens running back Derrick Henry took a short pass from Lamar Jackson and turned it into a 44-yard gain that slingshotted Baltimore to the Cincinnati 31-yard line.
Henry cut past linebacker Barrett Carter and then evaded a tackle from cornerback Jalen Davis.
0:15 left in Q3: Bengals 26, Ravens 14; Joe Burrow finds WR Andrei Iosivas for 2nd TD pass
Cincinnati will take wide receiver Andrei Iosivas on a linebacker any day of the week. That's the matchup the Bengals got on third-and-9 late in the third quarter.
Joe Burrow saw it and fired a 29-yard touchdown pass to Iosivas, who beat Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith downfield.
Just like that, the Bengals are back up two scores.
Andrei Iosivas scores and wishes his fam a Happy Thanksgiving ❤️
3:59 left in Q3: Bengals 19, Ravens 14; RB Keaton Mitchell dashes for 18-yard TD as WR Zay Flowers delivers pancake block
The Ravens needed to find the end zone on that drive, and they delivered with a seven-play, 68-yard drive that ended with an 18-yard sprint from running back Keaton Mitchell. Wide receiver Zay Flowers helped clear the way with a pancake block.
The play before, Lamar Jackson pulled the ball on a zone-read run for a gain of nine yards on third-and-3.
Jackson started the series with a 19-yard pass to tight end Mark Andrews.
11 1st downs 3/11 on 3rd down 1/2 on 4th down 206 total yards 0 turnovers 20:06 time of possession
BALTIMORE
7 1st downs 2/5 on 3rd down 0/0 on 4th down 154 total yards 3 turnovers 9:54 time of possession
Andy Backstrom
HALF: Bengals 12, Ravens 7
Cincinnati has made four red-zone trips, three of which have ended in field goals, including a 33-yarder Evan McPherson made after Lamar Jackson's second fumble of the night gave the Bengals another short field.
The Ravens are fortunate they're down only one score going into halftime.
Andy Backstrom
Lamar Jackson fumbles again, this time while bringing ball back toward his body; Ravens now have 3 first-half fumbles
The Ravens have fumbled three times in the first half. Lamar Jackson has lost two of them.
Here, the ball slipped out of his hand as he tried to bring it back toward his body. Baltimore sure could have used the Tuck Rule there. Unfortunately for head coach John Harbaugh, it's no longer part of the NFL rulebook.
The Bengals took over at the Ravens' 19-yard line.
Bengals defense capitalizes on a third Baltimore fumble
Joseph Ossai's 2nd sack of the night takes Ravens out of FG range after costly OPI flag
The Bengals are still missing Trey Hendrickson, but fellow defensive end Joseph Ossai has stepped up Thursday against the Ravens.
He's got a pair of sacks, the latest of which just took the Ravens out of field goal range.
The preceding offensive pass interference penalty on wide receiver Zay Flowers wiped his 36-yard touchdown off the board. Baltimore ends up empty-handed on the drive.
This is the easiest sack of Joseph Ossai's career. He has 2 sacks tonight and 5 on the season, which ties a career-high. pic.twitter.com/mXjD3vecDA
Vintage Lamar is back on Thanksgiving: Jackson escapes, then finds Isaiah Likely for 31-yard pickup
Lamar Jackson just pulled off something plenty surely tried to do during a Turkey Bowl game earlier on Thanksgiving. He retreated, stepped up, veered left, came to an abrupt stop and then fired a pass across the field to tight end Isaiah Likely for a gain of 31 yards.
That's some backyard football from Jackson that he's known for but hasn't delivered often recently while he's battled an array of injuries.
Vintage backyard football play from Lamar to Likely
2:36 left in Q2: Bengals 9, Ravens 7; Cincinnati bogs down in red zone again but takes lead with 3rd Evan McPherson FG
Joe Burrow linked up with Ja'Marr Chase for gains of 43 yards and 15 yards — the first on a go route and the next on an out route — but the Bengals once again failed to end a red-zone trip with a touchdown.
Regardless, the third Evan McPherson field goal of the night, this one a 24-yarder, returned the lead to Cincinnati.
