The Bengals' 21-10 victory Sunday against Baltimore borrowed heavily from the winning mold of last season's Ravens' Super Bowl drive.

        Six Baltimore turnovers — and a plus-five in turnover differential for Cincinnati — led to both Bengals touchdowns.

Cory Hall races upfield after a late fumble recovery. (Steven M. Herppich/Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

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        The Ravens led the NFL with a plus-23 turnover differential last season.

        The Bengals scored touchdowns both times they were in the red zone, inside the Ravens' 20-yard line. One scoring drive of 18 yards was set up by a special teams fumble recovery, and the defense recovered a fumble on a completed pass play to give the Bengals possession on the Baltimore 33 on the second short TD drive.

        The defense scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter when Takeo Spikes intercepted an Elvis Grbac pass and went 66 yards. The Bengals defense also forced the Ravens out of their game plan by stuffing the run, making Grbac and substitute Randall Cunningham attempt 64 passes.

        Another factor couldn't be quantified. The Bengals met the Ravens' physical, aggressive style with brute force of their own.

        “You have to earn your respect, and I think we got a little bit today,” said Bengals coach Dick LeBeau.

        Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe gave credit to LeBeau for turning around a Bengals squad that lost by a combined score of 64-7 in two games against Baltimore last year.

        “I think the biggest thing is they believe,” Sharpe said. “Dick LeBeau has got them believing. In 12 years in the league, that's as good as I've seen a Cincinnati team look from top to bottom.”

        The Bengals are 2-0 for the first time since 1995 and are guaranteed of a winning September for the first time since the 1990 team went 3-0 in September en route to a 9-7 finish and the franchise's last playoff berth.

        The loss snapped the Ravens' 12-game overall win streak, which includes their four postseason victories last season. Baltimore had defeated Cincinnati six times in a row, and it was coach Brian Billick's first loss to the Bengals in five games.

        The last time the Bengals forced six turnovers was Oct.1, 1989, in a 21-17 victory at Kansas City. The only Cincinnati turnover was Peter Warrick's fumble on a punt return at the Bengals' 17-yard line that set up Baltimore's only touchdown, a 2-yard Grbac pass to Patrick Johnson.

        The Ravens couldn't hold on to the ball long enough to sustain a drive.

        The Bengals, after two games this season, are plus-4 in turnover differential after finishing tied for 28th last year at minus-14.

        “If you don't turn the ball over, you're going to have a chance to win the game, and that was what the play calling reflected today,” said quarterback Jon Kitna, who passed for 1-yard to Corey Dillon for one score and ran 2 yards on a draw for the second.

        The Bengals ran for 67 yards — 57 by Dillon. The 67 yards also were the most allowed by the Ravens in a regular-season game since the 120 Pittsburgh gained in a 9-6 victory Oct. 29. That was the last time the Ravens lost.

        The Bengals trailed 3-0 at halftime. But it easily could have been 10-0.

        Baltimore had a 17-play drive beginning at their 20 with 10:33 to play in the half. They drove 74 yards on 17 plays — eight of the snaps coming inside the Bengals' 10-yard line — but came away with no points. Two penalties on Bengals linebacker Takeo Spikes prolonged the drive, but linebacker Brian Simmons picked off a deflected Grbac pass in the end zone and returned the ball to the 3.

        Intended for Ravens wide receiver Patrick Johnson, the pass was tipped by cornerback Rodney Heath, deflected by linebacker Steve Foley and swatted by safety Corey Hall into Simmons' arms.

        “They were trying to go out and up with the tight end,” Hall said. “It bounced off someone's chest into the air. I didn't want to get greedy, so I batted it hard toward the ground, but Brian got it.”

        Spikes was flagged first for unnecessary roughness for hitting Grbac after a pass play on a second and 9 from the 9. That gave the Ravens first down on the 4.

        Then Spikes was called for defensive holding on a pass play in the end zone of third down from the 3.

        But the penalty against Grbac reflected the bad blood simmering between Spikes and Grbac. Before the game, Spikes reminded his teammates that Grbac took a swipe at them for choosing Baltimore over Cincinnati in free agency because the Ravens are closer to going back to the Super Bowl.

        “Say whatever you want to say,” Grbac said after the game. “But he's got to come back to Baltimore, too.”

        Spikes raved about his teammates.

        “That series right there, if you want a slogan for what we stand for, look at those plays, we will not be denied,” he said.

        The Bengals, as they did in their opening victory against New England, they owned the third quarter.

        Linebacker Canute Curtis stripped the ball from Johnson on the opening kickoff of the second half and recovered the ball on the 18.

        Five plays later from the 1, Kitna lofted a pass to Dillon in the end zone.

        On the Ravens' next drive, Foley forced tight end Todd Heap to fumble on the 33 and Heath recovered.

        A 17-yard pass from Kitna to tight end Marco Battaglia moved the ball to the 4. After a 2-yard Dillon run, Kitna took the snap in the shotgun formation and ran untouched into the end zone.

        Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski “called a couple of great plays and really caught them off balance,” Kitna said. “Getting touchdowns after turnovers really gives the defense so much more confidence. The defense can't score. We've got to score.”

        In two victories, the Bengals have outscored opponents 27-0 in the third quarter. Last season, Cincinnati was outscored 91-41 in the third quarter.

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