Tampa, FL – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night in a matchup between two of the best NFL teams in 2024.
The Ravens came into Raymond James Stadium with their high-octane offense, led by QB phenom Lamar Jackson, who torched the Bucs’ defense for 525 yards and 5 touchdowns on the night.
Tampa came out strong, opening with an eight-play drive that ended with wide receiver Mike Evans’ 100th touchdown of his pro career.
Unfortunately, Evans, who had been hampered by a hamstring injury last week against the New Orleans Saints, went for a touchdown pass later in the game, re-injured his hamstring, and had to leave the game.
The Ravens managed to score 34 straight points on the Bucs through three quarters.
Tampa finally caught a break in the fourth quarter off a Jackson fumble. Zyon McCollum picked up the ball, and a group of Bucs defensive players almost carried him into the end zone.
McCollum was called down at the Ravens’ 30-yard line.
The Bucs managed to put together a 30-yard drive for a touchdown, with an 11-yard pass to Rachaad White for the score. Mayfield then hit Sterling Shepard for the two-point conversion, making the score 34-18.
The Ravens responded with an eight-play, 70-yard drive, ending with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Henry for a 41-18 score.
The Bucs pushed back, scoring another touchdown on a Bucky Irving one-yard run to end a nine-play, 20-yard drive.
Tampa continued to push, but suffered a major loss when Chris Godwin dislocated his left ankle on a play and had to be carted off the field. The gruesome injury upset his teammates, who gathered around Godwin on the field, with Mayfield nearly brought to his knees in grief.
The injury deflated the stadium, but the Bucs managed to score one more touchdown to Rachaad White for the final score.
Tampa head coach Todd Bowles was questioned about keeping Godwin in the game when it seemed out of reach.
“It doesn’t look good,” said Bowles. “We don’t second-guess. We’ve got our guys, and we’re playing everybody we’ve got. It’s unfortunate he got hurt, and we feel bad about that, but he’s a football player, and he wants to be in the game just like Baker and everybody else.”
Mayfield commented on the change in tone after his first of two interceptions.
“Yeah, the wind kind of got taken out of our sails at that point,” said QB Baker Mayfield. “Any time you’re in the red zone and have a turnover, you obviously can’t do that. Marlon Humphrey made a good play falling off it, but I’ve got to be careful with it down there knowing we already have points. Yeah, that really was the swing of the game—they got the ball, went down, and scored. That was a big momentum shift.”
The loss dropped the Buccaneers to 4-3 on the season, keeping them in a first-place tie in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons dropped a home game to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, 34-14. The two teams will battle for first place next Sunday when the Falcons visit Raymond James Stadium for a rematch of Atlanta’s 36-30 overtime win in Week Five.
The Ravens came into the game with the league’s top-ranked rushing offense and rushing defense, allowing only 59.0 rushing yards per game through six weeks. The Bucs gained 125 yards on the ground, giving them 562 over the past three games, and at halftime had held the Ravens to 69 rushing yards. However, Derrick Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher, broke off runs of 81 and 39 yards in the second half and finished with 169 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Lamar Jackson also ran for 52 yards, a sidenote on an evening in which he completed 17 of 22 passes for 281 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.
“They got some big plays,” said Bowles. “Lamar got out of the pocket and made a big play in the passing game. We turned it over twice and gave up two big runs in the second half to Henry. The game kind of got away from us.”
