The Baltimore Ravens completed their season sweep of the Cincinnati Bengals with a 34-20 victory on Thursday Night Football in Week 11.
For the first time this season, veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. led the team in receiving yards, finishing the night with 116 on four receptions. The big-time free-agent acquisition has started to heat up in recent weeks after a disappointing start to his first year with the Ravens, with 212 of his 374 total receiving yards and both of his two touchdowns on the season coming in the last three games.
With Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews suffering a season-ending ankle injury against the Bengals, Beckham’s emergence as a reliable playmaker in the passing game for quarterback Lamar Jackson could not have come at a better time in the season.
Beckham was a significant player for the Los Angeles Rams during their Super Bowl run in 2021, and he appears poised for a similar role with Baltimore as they gear up for a potential Super Bowl push of their own. The Ravens gave a one-year deal worth up to $18 million to a then-30-year-old wide receiver coming off a knee injury that kept him out of the 2022 NFL season.
It was seen as an overpay by many. Still, the now-seasoned superstar has the opportunity to earn every penny of his contract in a brutal final stretch of regular season games and into the playoffs.
Jackson will be without his trustworthy tight end for the season.
Still, unlike previous years, he has the wide receivers to keep the passing game humming with Beckham, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, and rookie first-round pick Zay Flowers.
