Baltimore doesn't look like its old self in loss
After starting season 3-0, Ravens face uphill climb with latest defeat
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CINCINNATI -- It now seems appropriate that Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco sent deodorant to the Ravens a couple of days ago.
Maybe it's time for the Ravens to start sweating.
Showing no sense of urgency for a critical AFC North game, the Ravens fell apart early Sunday and never recovered in a 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.
They didn't look like the team that routed the previously undefeated Denver Broncos a week ago, and they didn't look like a team gearing up for a playoff run.
The defense was exposed once again, giving up points on the first three series of the game to put the Ravens in an early 17-0 hole. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco struggled against the Bengals once again, throwing two interceptions (and possibly four if the Bengals defenders could catch) in leading the offense to a season-worst 215 yards. And place kicker Steve Hauschka missed a key fourth-quarter field goal once again, hooking a 38-yard attempt that would have cut the Ravens' deficit to a touchdown.
In getting swept by the Bengals for the third time in five seasons, the Ravens likely watched their hopes of winning the AFC North get brushed aside. Not only did the Ravens (4-4) fall two games behind Cincinnati (6-2) in the division, but it's also essentially a three-game gap because the Bengals now hold the edge in a head-to-head tiebreaker.
"I'm not going to be naive about it, it's very frustrating," running back Ray Rice said. "But in this league, if you stay frustrated, you'll be frustrated the rest of the season."
If you're looking for answers, you wouldn't find them in the Ravens' locker room after the game.
Middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the unofficial spokesman for the defense, got on his cell phone when reporters approached him. Wide receiver Derrick Mason, the unofficial spokesman for the offense, declined comment.
