At halftime of a surprisingly-low-scoring edition of “Thursday Night Football,” the Cincinnati Bengals lead the division-rival Baltimore Ravens by a score of 14-7.
Cincinnati got off to a hot start, marching down the field with a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession of the game. The Bengals were aided by a holding call in the end zone, gaining a quick lead on a 1-yard score by Chase Brown.
After the Ravens went three-and-out, the Bengals had a chance to take an early two-possession lead. Alas, after going for it on fourth-and-3 near midfield, they turned it over on downs; and on the ensuing Baltimore drive, Lamar Jackson tied things up with a touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor on a fake QB sweep that turned into a pass.
It took a while, but the Bengals eventually reclaimed the lead late in the first half with a Joe Burrow touchdown pass to tight end Tanner Hudson. The drive was nearly cut short by an interception in the end zone, but a replay review determined that Brandon Stephens — who had been called for the holding penalty on Cincy’s opening drive — got one foot down in the end zone twice, rather than getting both feet down, and his pick was overturned.
Will the Bengals hang on and pull off the upset, or will the Ravens stage a second-half comeback? We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, keep it locked to our live blog throughout the rest of the evening as we update you with stats, scores and highlights.