Ravens blow 13-0 lead as Bengals rout Baltimore 35-13

Baltimore Ravens let slip a 13-0 half-time lead to lose 35-13 at home to the Cincinnati Bengals, a collapse that leaves the franchise at 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the AFC North, according to Yahoo Sports.

Tyler Loop's second field goal of the afternoon put the Ravens in control just before the break, capping a first half in which Baltimore dominated possession, holding the ball for 22 minutes 20 seconds to Cincinnati's 7:40.

The Ravens' opening drive had been sparked by Zay Flowers, who turned a third-and-long pass from Tyler Huntley into a 48-yard touchdown by sprinting clear of the Bengals' defence.

Baltimore's defence also had a strong half, with Kyle Hamilton recording his league-leading seventh tackle for loss by a defensive back this season. Hamilton has now made 32 tackles for loss since 2022, the most by any NFL defensive back in that span, Yahoo Sports reported.

None of it survived the interval. Cincinnati erased the 13-point deficit across its first two drives of the third quarter, then scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions as Joe Burrow's side found the rhythm that had eluded it in the opening half.

The result marks the second time in as many weeks that Baltimore has suffered a similarly damaging second-half reversal, leaving the Ravens with pressing questions over their capacity to protect leads and compete within their own division.

In Paris, the Pittsburgh Steelers held off the New Orleans Saints 16-10 to win the NFL's first regular-season fixture staged in France, as reported by Graham Searles for Guardian NFL.

Aaron Rodgers threw one touchdown pass and completed 19 of 30 attempts for 212 yards, adding a crucial fourth-quarter scramble for a first down as Pittsburgh extended its winning run to three games and moved to 5-2.

Jaylen Warren carried the load on the ground with 101 rushing yards, while Chris Boswell kicked three field goals, including a 47-yarder in the closing seconds of the first half that gave the Steelers a 13-10 lead at the break after Rodgers had been sacked by Carl Granderson.

Rodgers' only touchdown pass went to the 6ft 7in tight end Darnell Washington from four yards out, a mismatch the Saints' secondary could not resolve.

New Orleans, who dropped to 2-5, managed just 18 rushing yards as a team and leaned heavily on Tyler Shough, who completed 30 of 38 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown but also threw a costly interception.

Linebacker Payton Wilson stepped in front of a short pass intended for Chris Olave in the red zone during the third quarter, a turnover from which the Saints never recovered, before Boswell's 39-yard field goal restored Pittsburgh's six-point cushion.

Patrick Queen added a third-down sack of Shough with under seven minutes remaining to stall New Orleans' final meaningful threat and seal the Steelers' third straight victory.