The Baltimore Ravens went down 10-0 early on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but after that, It was all gas no brakes for the Ravens’ offense Monday night against the Bucs scoring 34 unanswered points and beating them 41-31. The Baltimore offense kept it hot the entire game while the defense slowed up and got lazy at the end allowing the Buccaneers to score a touchdown, get an onside kick recovery, then score another touchdown within minutes. What looked like a blowout victory for the Ravens turned into a 10-point game within minutes.
Either way, the Ravens pulled out an important win on the road before heading to Cleveland for a divisional matchup with the Browns. Let’s go over what went right in Monday night’s game and what went wrong for not only the Ravens but also the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Baltimore Ravens What Went Right And What Went Wrong
Lamar Jackson was the MVP of this game going 17 of 22 throwing for 281 yards and five touchdowns as Baltimore won its fifth game in a row after a scary 0-2 start to the season. Derrick Henry also had some explosive runs and rushed for 169 yards on fifteen carries. Lamar Jackson put on a show completing passes to multiple different receivers and rushing for 52 yards on the ground helping the Ravens score 40 points for the first time this season.
There’s no question Jackson got almost all of his receivers involved, but one that stood out was Rashod Bateman who no question had his best game Monday night, scoring a long touchdown and having a career-high 121 yards receiving. Mark Andrews also had himself a night passing Todd Heap for most receiving touchdowns in franchise history for the Baltimore Ravens and finished with four catches for 41 yards, including some beautiful catches along the sideline.
Tamba Bay Buccaneers Fight Until The Very End But At What Cost?
Baker Mayfield completed 10 of his first 11 passes and had a touchdown pass to Chris Godwin erased by a holding call on the Bucs’ second drive of the game, then after that, he tossed two interceptions in the second quarter, one in the end zone shortly after the Mike Evans injury. Mayfield eventually completed 31 of 45 passes for 370 yards, three touchdowns, and two picks as Tampa Bay’s offense generated 481 total yards. This came one week after the Buccaneers set a single-game franchise record with 594 yards in their 51-27 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens generated 508 yards of offense in a game that pitted two of the league’s top-four scoring squads against each other. The Buccaneers’ offense made good use of its new backfield “the three-headed monster backfield” with Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Sean Tucker combing for 226 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Rachaad White led the rushing attack with 40 yards on 10 carries and gained 71 yards on six catches. Irving had 77 yards from scrimmage and scored on a one-yard run with four minutes left in regulation.
The Buccaneers successfully pulled off an onside kick before White’s second touchdown for the first time in more than a decade. This loss cost them even more with both of the Buccaneer’s star receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans getting injured throughout this game, but the Buccaneers will remain at home next week to face the Atlanta Falcons coming off of a bye week, so we’ll see if the Bucs can get things turned around.
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