The Baltimore Ravens stumbled at home, losing 38-30 to the Detroit Lions as their early-season record dropped to 1-2.
Pushed around on defence and manhandled when they had the ball, the Ravens faltered in an ugly, surprise defeat.
The Ravens allowed the Lions to amass 426 yards – including a whopping 224 on the ground – which proved to be simply too much for Lamar Jackson and Baltimore’s high-powered offence to overcome.
Jackson was sacked seven times, Derrick Henry fumbled in the fourth quarter when the game was still close, and Baltimore absorbed a humbling loss.
The final score was deceptively close. In truth, the Ravens (1-2) let a 21-14 lead turn into a 14-point deficit before tacking on a meaningless touchdown with 29 seconds left.
Detroit’s lethal running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery ran in two touchdowns each as the Lions punished their hosts on the ground, while Amon-Ra St Brown also found the end zone.
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs pushes for the end zone
Mark Andrews caught two touchdown passes from Jackson, who also connected with Rashod Bateman for a score, but could not stop the Ravens slipping to a second defeat against another team with Super Bowl aspirations.
“The biggest problem is we didn’t play good defence,” coach John Harbaugh said. “There’s nobody in that locker room that thinks that’s good enough. That’s not who we are. It cannot be who we are. It’s not acceptable.”
Now three weeks into the season the Ravens have lost 41-40 and 38-30. In between, they beat lowly Cleveland despite leading by only a touchdown at halftime.
That’s why Jackson scoffed at the notion that this defeat might serve as motivation to improve.
“Week One was a wake-up call. Last week was a wake-up call,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to win.”
Jackson struggled to get free and Henry coughed up the ball down the stretch, but this loss was mostly about the defence. The Ravens were mercilessly pushed around by a Lions team that two years ago came to Baltimore and lost 38-6.
In this one, the Lions had drives of 95 and 98 yards before putting together a 70-yard march that produced a field goal for a 38-24 lead with 1:42 left.
“No excuses can be made at this point. If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “We’ve just go to patch it up right now.”
There once was a day when the Ravens went weeks at a time without giving up 100 yards on the ground. That’s why it hurt so much to have David Montgomery ramble for 151 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs pick up 67.
The defeat is only Lamar Jackson’s third loss against an NFC team
“Our run defence has been pretty good the whole time I’ve been here,” Hamilton said, “but when a team runs the ball like that it demoralizes you. It’s on us as a defence to put that fire out, and we just didn’t do that.”
Given that Jackson was 7-2 in Monday night games and 24-2 lifetime against the NFC, it was an uncharacteristic performance by a team with aspirations of reaching the Super Bowl. The trek doesn’t get any easier next week, when Baltimore faces the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs on the road.
“I don’t think the sky is falling, but we’ve got a big one next week on a short week,” Hamilton said. “So it’s up to us to be professionals and go out and win.”
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