Lamar Jackson threw for five touchdowns, Derrick Henry racked up 169 yards on the ground as the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 41-31, on “Monday Night Football.”
The long-term injury impact of this game might be the biggest takeaway from the high-scoring affair.
The Buccaneers lost their top two receivers — Mike Evans and Chris Godwin — to injuries. Godwin’s injury, which occurred in the game’s final minute, will sideline the receiver indefinitely. Godwin’s absence will leave a big hole in the Buccaneers’ offense; the eighth-year player out of Penn State was among the league leaders with 50 receptions for 576 yards.
The Ravens’ three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey also left with a knee injury, which was suffered on his second interception of the game.
Tampa Bay had gotten out to a 10-0 lead and threatened to extend that lead, but Baker Mayfield threw an interception in the end zone. The momentum from that point on was in the Ravens’ favor. Baltimore scored 34 unanswered points. Tampa Bay didn’t score again until the fourth quarter.
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The Ravens improved to 5-2 and moved into a first-place tie atop the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, fell to 4-3 and are in a first-place tie in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons, who also lost in during Week 7.
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With under one minute to go, Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin stayed down on the ground after taking a hit from linebacker Roquan Smith. ESPN did not show a replay of the hit on their broadcast, so the nature of the injury is unclear for now. Godwin required immediate assistance from medical personnel after the tackle.
The Buccaneers likely needed to recover a second straight onside kick to stay alive in the game, but Zay Flowers didn’t let that happen. Chase McLaughlin’s bouncing kick ended up in the hands of the Ravens’ receiver playing on the hands team, and Baltimore will try to run down the clock with under two minutes to go.
Tampa Bay running back Rachaad White found himself wide open on a crossing route to the left side and waltzed his way into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown reception. It’s 41-31 Ravens at the two-minute warning.
Tampa Bay has a lot of work to do to come back from a 17-point deficit with less than four minutes left, but they completed step one by recovering an onside kick. Tavierre Thomas leaped to snag the kick after Chase McLaughlin executed the onside attempt well to give his teammates a chance.
Tampa Bay gets the ball back on their own 48-yard line with just over three and a half minutes to go.
Rookie running back Bucky Irving drove forward on a one-yard halfback dive play to find the end zone and cut into the Ravens’ lead once more. The Bucs failed the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, so it’s 41-24 Baltimore with under four minutes to play.
Derrick Henry finally hit pay dirt to add on to his already huge game. The running back made his first reception of the game in the fourth quarter and took the 13-yard pass in for the touchdown.
The score was also Lamar Jackson’s fifth passing touchdown of the game, giving him a third career outing with 50-plus rushing yards and five passing touchdowns. He is the only quarterback in NFL history with more than one such game.
It’s 41-18 Ravens with six and a half minutes left in this “Monday Night Football” clash.
For the second time in three possessions, Ravens running back Derrick Henry made an outside move to the left and found open space. Henry picked up 39 yards on Baltimore’s second play of the drive and put his team inside the Buccaneers’ 30-yard line.
Buccaneers running back Rachaad White took a slip screen pass 11 yards to the house for his team’s first score since the first quarter. Head coach Todd Bowles decided to go for two points to cut the deficit to two scores, and Baker Mayfield hit receiver Sterling Shepard in the back left corner of the end zone to convert the attempt.
It’s 34-18 Ravens with 11 and a half minutes remaining in the game.
Buccaneers CB Zyon McCollum was the benefactor of a backwards pass that Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers dropped. McCollum dragged a couple of Baltimore offensive players all of the way to the end zone with him, but the touchdown got called back. The corner had a knee down and was touched before his fumble return.
The play still gave Tampa Bay the ball on the Baltimore 30 one and a half minutes into the fourth quarter.
Mark Andrews was the recipient of a touchdown pass for the second time on the night late on the third quarter.
Despite holding a 17-point lead, the Ravens went for it on fourth-and-3 from the four. Lamar Jackson was able to find his tight end with a floater pass to the left, and Andrews hauled it in for his second touchdown catch on “Monday Night Football.”
The Ravens lead the Buccaneers 34-10 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Derrick Henry, the Ravens’ lead back, slipped past a few defenders at the line of scrimmage and was off to the races on the first play of Baltimore’s next possession. A good pursuit angle by Tampa Bay cornerback Zyon McCollum was all that kept Henry from a 92-yard touchdown run. Instead, Baltimore got first-and-10 on the Bucs’ 11-yard line.
For the second time of the night, Lamar Jackson found his former first-round receiver, Rashod Bateman, on a deep throw. The first one went for 59 yards in the second quarter. The second was for 49 yards and six points.
It’s 27-10 Baltimore halfway through the third quarter. Bateman is up to 113 yards and a touchdown on just three catches.
The Buccaneers’ kicker had the distance on a long field goal try into the wind, but his kick was off of the mark. The 55-yard attempt bounced off of the right upright and back to the field, no good.
After recording two interceptions on the night, Marlon Humphrey suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for the remainder of the “Monday Night Football” matchup.
With the Ravens backed up to their own 48-yard line after a broken play, running back Justice Hill was able to pick up 18 yards on third-and-25 to put Baltimore into field goal range. Justin Tucker drove his second field goal attempt 52 yards and extended the Ravens’ lead to 20-10.
The Buccaneers will take over with over 12 minutes left in the third quarter.
Near the end of the second quarter, Baltimore was penalized three times in four plays to back it up to second-and-goal from the Tampa Bay 38-yard line. A couple of big plays from Justice Hill and Nelson Agholor got the Ravens down to the 10, and Justin Tucker kicked a 28-yard field goal to put more points on the board.
It’s 17-10 Baltimore at halftime after the Buccaneers kneeled to end the first half. The Ravens will receive the kick to begin the second half.
Marlon Humphrey headed back to the locker room as the second quarter wound down. He was banged up on his second interception of the night and appeared to be walking normally from what was shown on the ESPN broadcast.
Marlon Humphrey, the 28-year-old cornerback, recorded a second interception just one drive after making his first of the night. This one will give the Ravens the ball back on their own 40-yard line after Humphrey was able to trap the ball against his helmet through a collision with a fellow defender and contact with the ground.
However, Humphrey remained on the ground shaken up after the play. The nature of his injury is unclear for now.
Veteran receiver Mike Evans will not return to the game after re-aggravating his hamstring injury in the second quarter.
Evans had been trying to play through the already existing injury and already scored a touchdown on Monday night, but he appeared to tweak it once again on a deep pass that nearly resulted in his second touchdown.
One play after an apparent rushing touchdown by Lamar Jackson was overturned by a holding call, Justice Hill took a short screen pass into the end zone from 18 yards out. It’s now 14-10 Ravens with just over four minutes left in the first half.
Lamar Jackson was able to avoid a safety blitz from Antoine Winfield Jr. on the second play of the Ravens’ possession. He scrambled out of the pocket to his right before making a throw across his body to hit a wide-open Rashod Bateman in the middle of the field after blown coverage in the secondary. The pass gave the Ravens first-and-goal from the Tampa Bay 8-yard line.
Three plays after Mike Evans’ injury, Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers were looking to score from the Ravens’ 3-yard line.
The quarterback was well-protected in the pocket but couldn’t initially find an open receiver to his left. Eventually, Mayfield looked back to his right and fired a ball to the back right corner of the end zone. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey was right there waiting, and he jumped to make the easy interception.
Mike Evans, who was attempting to play through a hamstring injury, stayed down on the field after he nearly caught his second touchdown of the game. The veteran receiver was grabbing at the back of his right leg, seemingly indicating a re-aggravation of the hamstring injury.
Evans walked off of the field under his own power, but he was limping as he did so.
Earlier in the game, Evans collected his 100th career touchdown reception.
Baltimore put together chunk play after chunk play on their ensuing 70-yard drive. It culminated with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Mark Andrews over the middle to pull the Ravens back within one score.
It’s 10-7 Buccaneers with 12 and a half minutes to play in the second quarter.
Second-year Ravens receiver Zay Flowers had to leave the game after a 19-yard reception early in the second quarter.
Flowers appeared to twist his right ankle as he was tackled by the Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr.
Baker Mayfield’s apparent 8-yard pass to find receiver Chris Godwin in the back of the end zone was overturned for a holding call. One 13-yard screen pass to tight end Cade Otton later, kicker Chase McLaughlin was set up for a chip-shot, 23-yard field goal. He sent it through the uprights to push Tampa Bay’s lead to 10-0.
Baltimore takes over with just two seconds left in the first quarter.
Soon after the Ravens entered Tampa Bay territory, the Buccaneers sacked quarterback Lamar Jackson on consecutive plays to force a punt. Second-year edge rusher YaYa Diaby picked up his second sack of the season on second down before safety Antoine Winfield Jr. came through on third down to create a fourth-and-28 for Baltimore.
Jordan Stout’s punt ended up in the end zone for a touchback, so the Buccaneers took over at their own 20-yard line with six minutes left in the first quarter.
On the Buccaneers’ first possession of the night, quarterback Baker Mayfield capped off a 70-yard scoring drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans. The play-action passing play left the veteran receiver with plenty of separation in the front left corner of the end zone, and he hauled in his 100th career touchdown reception as a result.
Evans became the 11th player in NFL history to catch 100 touchdown passes in his career. The other 10 players ahead of him are either in the Hall of Fame or will be.
The touchdown catch also put Evans over 12,000 career receiving yards, becoming the 30th player in NFL history to accomplish that feat.
He is just the sixth player in NFL history to have both 12,000 receiving yards and 100 receiving touchdowns all with the same team.
The Buccaneers vs. Ravens matchup is the first of two “MNF” games in Week 7. It will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The second, the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Arizona Cardinals, will start at 9 p.m. ET (on ESPN+).
ESPN is the broadcast home of “Monday Night Football”. Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentary), and Lisa Salters (sideline reporter) will be on the call.
ESPN’s popular alternate broadcast, the “ManningCast” returns. The two former NFL quarterbacks will have double duty with both matchups on Monday.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Week 7 “MNF” matchup between the Ravens and Buccaneers will shape up:
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When Tampa Bay’s defense is on the field it will face a tough test against the Ravens offense, which is averaging 471 yards per game over their current four-game winning streak. That matchup also will include battles between two of the biggest players in the NFL: Baltimore right guard Daniel Faalele and Tampa Bay defensive lineman Vita Vea. — Ayrton Ostly
We have a complete list at every position:
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The NFL’s top 18 players in average annual salary are all quarterbacks, according to OverTheCap.com. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the league’s highest-paid player in the preseason, agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the first non-quarterback on the highest-paid list after striking a four-year, $140 million contract extension this offseason.
The Ravens are favorites to defeat the Buccaneers, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024 including the ESPN BET app and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.
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There was one notable stat that stood out as a potential problem for Jackson. He completed just 59.1 percent of his passes during his final college season and just 57 percent total for his college career. It’s rare for quarterbacks to significantly improve their accuracy and efficiency at the NFL level so Jackson’s “tendency to miss on simple throws,” as NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein put it, was a concern some talent evaluators had.
That’s also why a select few – like former Indianapolis Colts general manager and ESPN talent Bill Polian – argued that Jackson should move to receiver at the NFL level.
Few agreed with Polian’s take, though Jackson revealed on one of the Ravens’ podcasts that the Los Angeles Chargers asked him to work out as a receiver at the 2018 NFL Combine.
It’s going to be a clear night in Tampa with a high of 78 degrees at kickoff and a low of 73 degrees at midnight. According to the Weather Channel, winds will max out at five mph while chances of precipitation are 5% and under for the entire game.
With eight touchdowns through six games, Derrick Henry has one more touchdown through as many games than LaDainian Tomlinson had in his record-breaking campaign in 2006.
Henry also has an extra game with which to chase the record.
The NFL record for rushing touchdowns in a single season is 28, set by Tomlinson.
Mayfield signed an extension with the Buccaneers this offseason to stay with Tampa Bay through the 2026 season.
Across all metrics, the top-10 highest paid players in the NFL are all quarterbacks. Here’s how the breakdown looks by AAV, guarantees, and total contract value this season.
AAV
Guaranteed money
Total contract value
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the highest-paid non-quarterback by AAV at $35 million per year and San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa is the highest-paid non-quarterback by total value at $170 million.
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