When Clayton took a handoff from rookie quarterback Joe Flacco and sprinted aggressively toward the right sideline, he convinced Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall that a reverse was brewing.

Big mistake.

Instead, Clayton pulled up just before the line of scrimmage and lofted the football behind Hall for a 32-yard touchdown in the third quarter. It was the predominant highlight of the Ravens’ 34-3 victory over the Bengals on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.

The former first-round draft pick from Oklahoma also caught five passes for a career-high 164 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown catch.

An option quarterback when he was growing up in Texas, Clayton threw his first touchdown pass since high school.

“We’ve known he could do it,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s the best one he’s thrown yet. He’s a gamer obviously. He’ll be lobbying for more of those.”

The Ravens have been practicing the play for a while, but this was the first time they unveiled it in an actual game.

“I’m just thankful coach trusted me with the ball to make a play like that,” Clayton said. “I’m just glad we were able to put points on the board and win the game because, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about.”

Clayton hadn’t thrown a pass in a game since an unsuccessful attempt against rival Nebraska during his sophomore year.

“It was a bad pass,” Clayton said. “I was just like, ‘Lord, let this one go right.”

For degree of difficulty, Clayton topped his scoring pass on a 70-yard catch-and-run on the Ravens' ensuing drive after Mason's score.

He sprinted past Hall, who had an extremely rough game, and stuck out his right hand to snare a bomb from Flacco at the 30-yard line. Then, he dashed away from pursuit to complete the impactful play and staked Baltimore to a 27-3 lead in the third quarter.

"I was just running," Clayton said. "I looked back and the ball was in the air. I just kind of stuck my hand out in the air."

Clayton entered the game with just 23 receptions for 311 yards and two touchdowns, but this was a far different experience Sunday.

He was a major factor throughout the game, also setting up the first of kicker Matt Stover’s two field goals with a 45-yard diving catch.

“It’s huge to get Mark involved in the game plan, and I’m sure you saw what he could do for us,” Flacco said. “Anytime you get the guy one-on-one, you want your guy to win for you and Mark did that for us.”

Clayton’s contribution drew some coverage away from Mason as Baltimore offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was able to rely upon a complementary downfield target for a change. Mason caught six passes for 91 yards.

“Mark’s as hard of a worker as we have on our team,” Harbaugh said. “Between him and Mason, they go out there and kill themselves in practice and it shows up in the game.”