Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is having historic success against NFC opponents and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became his latest conquest on Monday night.
Jackson threw for 281 yards with five touchdowns and the Ravens extended their winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jackson improved to 23-1 against the NFC, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history.
“You know we have to score points,” Jackson said. “To us, we see a team just moving the ball and putting points on the ball without us scoring. We didn’t really do anything on our first drive. It’s like, ‘Man, we have to have some urgency with ourselves,’ and that’s what it was.
“I believe that’s what we did the next couple of drives. We started putting points on the board. Those guys were still getting after us a little bit, but we came out on top.”
Running back Derrick Henry had an 81-yard run late in the third quarter to set up the Ravens’ fourth touchdown. Henry finished with 169 yards on 15 carries and caught a touchdown pass.
Ravens tight end Mark Andrews caught two touchdown passes and has 43 in his career, which surpassed Todd Heap (41), for the most in franchise history.
“Obviously [I’m] incredibly grateful, and just thinking back, you got to think about getting drafted to this incredible organization,” Andrews said. “I’ve been blessed with incredible teammates and obviously No. 8 [Lamar Jackson] and having that connection, but I’m fortunate to have incredible teammates [and] unselfish guys.”
Baltimore opened a 27-10 lead on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Rashod Bateman with 7:25 left in the third quarter.
“The media said that me and Lamar don’t have a connection, but we do, and we showed it tonight.” Bateman said. “I think we’re doing a good job of showing it this season, with a lot of work put in that goes into that. Shoutout to Lamar for delivering the ball. [I] appreciate you [No.] 8.”
The Ravens extended the lead when Henry’s 81-yard run set up a short touchdown pass from Jackson to Andrews.
Jackson had a rare mistake when Zay Flowers couldn’t handle a backward pass that was ruled a fumble. Tampa Bay took advantage and pulled to within 34-18 on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with 11:24 left in the game.
However, Henry had another 34-yard run and then caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to boost the lead to 41-18.
The Ravens had more errors in the final three minutes to let the Buccaneers pull within 10 points.
Tampa Bay running back Bucky Irving had a 1-yard score. The Ravens then couldn’t handle an onside kick and Tampa Bay recovered. Rachaad White scored on a 23-yard reception on another busted coverage with just under two minutes left.
Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey had a career-high two interceptions but had to leave the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game. His first interception came in the end zone and gave the Ravens its first stop.
“Marlon is walking around in there; I can tell you that,” Harbaugh said. “He’s in good spirits, but I don’t know if it’s too serious.”
Baker Mayfield was 31-for-45 for 370 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked three times.
Tampa Bay tight end Cade Otton caught eight passes for 100 yards.
The Ravens’ defense had communication issues and was caught on their heels several times on the opening drive. Tampa Bay converted a fourth-and-1 on the sweep by Jalen McMillan, who ran for 11 yards. Mayfield then threw a 25-yard touchdown to Mike Evans for a 7-0 lead.
However, Evans reinjured his hamstring in the second quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Jackson had not been sacked more than twice in a game all season. He was sacked on back-to-back plays on the Ravens’ first drive.
Baltimore settled down on its next drive and pulled to within 10-7 on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Andrews.
Humphrey made his second interception of the season when picked off Mayfield in the end zone to end a potential scoring drive midway through the second quarter.
The Ravens took advantage and earned their first lead, 14-10, on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Hill with 4:23 left in the half.
A 28-yard field goal by Tucker gave the Ravens a 17-10 lead at the break.
“Even though all three phases could have done some things better certainly, and we’ll talk about those, all three phases came through when they had to in a big way,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Our defense had six straight stops when our offense scored six straight touchdowns at one point in the game – six straight scoring drives. That’s pretty darn impressive. Right there kind of tells the story, but we’re happy.”
Penalties a huge problem: The Ravens were flagged three consecutive times on the final drive of the first half, which almost took them out of field-goal range. Overall, the Ravens were penalized nine times for 85 yards, compared to eight penalties for 75 yards for Tampa Bay.
Walker debut: Ravens rookie fourth-round wide receiver Devontez Walker was active for the first time this season.
