Ravens Get Run Over As Lions Spoil Baltimore's 'Monday Night Football' Party
Darkness had fallen and M&T Bank Stadium was rocking when the Ravens hosted the Detroit Lions in the first "Monday Night Football" game in Baltimore in four years.
The Ravens entered the contest with the highest win percentage in home prime-time games since 1970, but this night belonged to the Lions.
When Detroit running back David Montgomery ran for a 31-yard touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to boost the Lions' lead to 14, it essentially turned out the lights and the party was over.
Final score: Lions 38, Ravens 30. The Ravens are now 1-2 for the second year in a row.
Uncharacteristically, Ravens Lost Battle in the Trenches
Unlike the season-opening defeat against the Buffalo Bills, when the Ravens suffered a fourth-quarter meltdown, this loss was shockingly atypical for a franchise that has a well-earned reputation for stopping the run and running the ball.
Led by running backs Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit gashed the Ravens defense, which was without defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, for 224 rushing yards and won in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
The Ravens defense had no sacks or turnovers and allowed touchdown drives of 98 and 96 yards.
The Lions defense sacked Lamar Jackson seven times and had 30 pressures. It also forced a crucial fumble by running back Derrick Henry, his third in as many games.
Baltimore Beatdown’s Nikhil Mehta: "Most of the Ravens' losses raise questions about their ability to close out games on a week-to-week basis, but the Lions exposed significant weaknesses that can't be neatly addressed before the next game. Baltimore's pass rush and run defense collapsed with the loss of a single player and their vaunted secondary couldn't fill any of the gaps. Their offensive line was manhandled at the line of scrimmage, taking the whole offense out at the knees for most of the night. It's too early to cast aspersions on the Ravens' playoff chances, but they've inspired little confidence that they can overcome their postseason demons if and when they get the opportunity."
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec: "The Ravens pride themselves on dominating the line of scrimmage and being the more physical team upfront. So do the Lions. The Lions were the more physical team Monday, and it wasn't particularly close. Detroit's offensive line manhandled the Ravens' defensive front. The Ravens couldn't get off blocks. They couldn't stop the run, and they didn't sack Jared Goff once. They allowed two touchdown drives of 11 plays or more and surrendered scoring drives of 67, 98, 60 and [96] yards. Offensively, they couldn't score from three consecutive plays from the 1-yard line in the second quarter."
The Baltimore Sun’s Sam Cohn: "That was about as uncharacteristic a prime-time performance as we could have expected from the superstar duo of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Jackson was sacked seven times, fumbled (which he recovered on fourth down for a turnover anyway) and nearly threw an interception. Henry looked human in goal-to-go situations and coughed up a costly fumble in the fourth quarter. Neither capitalized on chances to take or extend leads, and it yielded what was their worst collective showing this season. On the other side, the heart of Baltimore's defensive issues were a product of not having pass rushers Nnamdi Madubuike and Kyle Van Noy. That put too much pressure on the young guys, who struggled to pressure Jared Goff. Interior issues made life tougher on the back end."
Press Box’s Bo Smolka: "The difference in the pass rush was a difference in the game. Jackson was frequently under duress, while Goff usually had all the time he needed to make the throw he wanted, whether it was a third-down throw to tight end Sam LaPorta over the middle, or a floater to the sensational Amon-Ra St. Brown, who finished with seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. In fact, Goff was not sacked at all, ending the Ravens' NFL-best streak of 57 straight games with at least one sack."
Pundits Don't Know What to Make of Henry's Fumbling Problem
On the Ravens' first possession, it looked like it was going to be a bounce-back game for Henry, who was held to 23 yards on 11 carries by the Cleveland Browns a week earlier. Henry had three carries for 36 yards on the drive, capped by a 28-yard touchdown run.
The five-time Pro Bowler had just 14 yards on nine carries the rest of the way, and his fumble with 8:26 remaining in the fourth quarter that gave the Lions the ball at the Ravens' 16-yard line was a game-changer.
It occurred on the first play after the Ravens made a defensive stop to give the ball back to the offense, trailing just 28-24. The turnover led to a Lions field goal with 6:35 left, and the Ravens never got closer.
Henry's fumbling issue has come out of nowhere.
"On 683 touches from Week 18 of the 2022 season through the end of the 2024 season, Derrick Henry fumbled just three times. He's fumbled three times on just 43 touches this season," NFL.com’s Nick Shook wrote. "No football player is infallible. Plenty of excellent defensive plays knock the ball loose every week in the NFL. But Henry's sudden fumbling tendency is alarming because of the role he plays in Baltimore's offense. He's a home run threat, a bulldozing back, a reliable workhorse and a proven closer who has suddenly lost the ability to accomplish the latter, which reduced his role on Monday night and directly affected the outcome of the game.
"We can't explain why Henry is suddenly giving away possession, but if he and the Ravens are going to reach their potential, he better solve it fairly soon."
After Henry rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries (9.4 yards per carry) against the Bills two weeks ago, pundits were effusive in their praise of the 31-year-old for continuing to defy Father Time.
Now, pundits are already pondering whether Henry's past two games prove Father Time really is undefeated. CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr pushed back on that narrative.
"Is Henry done? Or does he just have a case of fumblitis? The latter is more likely, as Henry is just going through issues with ball security," Kerr wrote. "Henry still has 41 carries for 242 yards and three touchdowns through three games, an average of 5.9 yards per carry. He's still on pace for 1,371 yards rushing, so running the ball isn't the issue. If Henry takes care of the football, he'll be fine. He's not past his prime yet."
Ravens' Hole at 1-2 'Not As Big As It Would Seem'
Getting off to a 1-2 start is disappointing for a Baltimore team with Super Bowl aspirations, but ESPN’s Jamison Hensley said the Ravens' hole at 1-2 is "not as big as it would seem."
"The Ravens have a tough stretch in the next three games against the Chiefs, Texans and Rams, all of whom won at least one playoff game last season. But Baltimore is only one game behind the Bengals and Steelers – two teams with their own flaws," Hensley wrote. "The Bengals are expected to be without quarterback Joe Burrow until December, and the Steelers have the fourth-worst defense in the NFL. Baltimore bounced back from an 0-2 start last season to win the AFC North. The Ravens are in position to do the same this year."
Shook's confidence in the Ravens as a Super Bowl contender wasn't shaken despite the loss.
"This felt like one of the true 12-round title fights between heavyweights," Shook wrote. "We just might have seen a Super Bowl preview on Monday night."
Baltimore has a chance to get back on track and make a statement this Sunday when it heads to Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium, where Jackson and the Ravens are 0-3 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
"The Ravens' showdown against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs next Sunday feels even bigger now, with two of the teams thought to be in contention for AFC supremacy staring at 1-2 records after three weeks," Smolka wrote. "The loser will be 1-3 at the end of September, with a sense of doubt perhaps starting to creep in after the season's opening quarter."
Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman Returned to Form
Tight end Mark Andrews and wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who had both been quiet the first two weeks, were bright spots Monday night.
Andrews turned in a vintage performance with six catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns after having two catches for seven yards and no touchdowns in the first two games.
"Andrews turned back the clock and reminded everyone that he still has juice in the tank," Sporting News’ Adam Schultz wrote. "Andrews managed a 19-yard reception on the first offensive play of the game, along with having another 19-yard reception, plus touchdown grabs of 14 yards and 27 yards to prove he can still be 'that guy' for Lamar Jackson and the offense."
Bateman had five catches for 63 yards and a touchdown after catching four passes for 25 yards and no touchdowns in the first two games.
"Bateman's 63 yards arrived in big moments, finally making an impact as Jackson's downfield weapon well before notching his first touchdown of the season just before the end of the first half," Sports Illustrated’s Henry Brown wrote. "After initially getting buried by Zay Flowers, DeAndre Hopkins and, occasionally, Devontez Walker in Jackson's red zone reads, he finished with more receptions (five) than the other three combined (four)."
Deion Sanders Says His Son Can't Be Blamed for Not Wanting to Be Jackson's Backup
Colorado Head Coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders disputed the notion that his son, Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, made a mistake by telling the Ravens he did not want to be Jackson's backup.
The elder Sanders confirmed the report that the Ravens were planning to draft Shedeur in the fifth round last April, but they backed off when he told them not to select him.
"I played for Baltimore, so me and [former General Manager Ozzie Newsome] are cool," Deion said on Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast. "We understood that whole conversation, and he wanted to talk to Shedeur as well as he wanted to talk to me. And I put Shedeur on the phone, and I don't want to say how it went, but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, 'Why in the world would I go back up Lamar for 10 more years?'
"I've never sat on the bench and said, 'Well, I learned a lot today.'"
Deion, who said the Philadelphia Eagles also called about Shedeur during the draft, expects Shedeur, who is third on the depth chart behind Joe Flacco and third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel, to start for the Browns at some point this season.
"I got a prediction," Deion said. "I ain't telling nobody. I got a feeling when it's going to go down. But it's going to go down this year. ... He's going to get a shot."
