The Bengals took the opening kickoff and did what they needed to do.
Cincinnati drove 70 yards in 12 plays, scoring on Chase Brown’s 1-yard run. The Bengals were 2-of-3 on third down, and the one time they missed, they went for it on fourth down.
Joe Burrow’s pass was incomplete to Brown, who was wide open, but Ravens defensive back Brandon Stephens was called for defensive holding. That gave the Bengals a new set of downs at the 1, and Brown scored on the next play.
Burrow completed 5 of 8 passes for 61 yards, and Chase caught two for 32 yards.
The Ravens used two timeouts on the drive, one on an ill-advised challenge that would have brought the ball back 2 yards if it had been successful, and another when they had 12 players on the field.
The Ravens then went three-and-out on their first possession, giving the ball back to the Bengals.