​It was an extremely frustrating first half of football for the Cincinnati Bengals in Baltimore on Sunday, with questions looming about their 2026 playoff viability. Heading into the locker room at the halfway mark with a 13-0 deficit, very little was working on both sides of the ball.Whatever the message and adjustments were during halftime worked beautifully (Joe Burrow said in a CBS postgame interview that Ja’Marr Chase was the most vocal), as the Bengals came out determined to change the course of the game. They did so with immense gusto, throttling the Ravens with 35 unanswered points in the final two quarters, while disallowing Baltimore to score again.How rare was that? The Bengals are only the 10th team in NFL history to be shut out in the first half and still score 35+ points in the second half. Their 35 second-half points are the most by a team shut out in the first half since the Minnesota Vikings scored 39 points in Week 15 of 2022 to complete the largest comeback in NFL history (trailed 33-0) against the Indianapolis Colts.Cincinnati’s Demolition Began on OffenseThe Bengals received the third-quarter kickoff and promptly moved down the field. Joe Burrow started to gain momentum, hitting Mike Gesicki for a touchdown to start the avalanche.Burrow started the game just 6-of-12 passing for 43 yards through the first two quarters. As the Bengals shifted to working less under center in the second half, Cincinnati’s star quarterback went 16-of-18 for 249 yards and four passing touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase caught fire late with an electric 33-yard gain off of a short pass, and a touchdown grab a few plays later. Tee Higgins was incredible in this contest, grabbing six catches for 148 yards and a touchdown—all in the final two quarters. Cincinnati also found some semblance of the run game on Sunday, getting 55 yards and a touchdown on 15 combined carries from Samaje Perine and Chase Brown. While it’s not eye-popping, there were a couple of crucial runs that converted first downs to continue the Bengals’ barrage of Baltimore.Don’t Forget About the DefenseThe defense had some issues in the first half, namely on two huge conversions on third-and-long (one for a 48-yard touchdown reception by Zay Flowers) in the first two quarters. However, they did hold Baltimore to two field goal attempts when it looked like more points would have been scored. But the Bengals’ defense ended up swarming the Ravens’ offense, netting four sacks, an interception, and a stop on downs deep in their own territory in the second half. Dexter Lawrence and Co. also clamped down on Derrick Henry all day, limiting him to just 2.6 yards per carry on 17 attempts.Cincinnati’s defensive smothering of Baltimore led to this second-half sequence of Ravens’ offensive possessions:Punt (following a Bengals touchdown)Turnover on DownsPuntInterceptionTurnover on DownsSpecial Teams Continues to show upEvan McPherson didn’t have a field goal attempt opportunity, but