Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards with five touchdowns and the Baltimore Ravens extended their winning streak to five games with a 41-31 win over the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday evening.
Baltimore wide receiver Rashod Bateman made four catches for a career-high 121 yards and a score. Jackson connected on 17 of 22 passes. After a slow start, Ravens 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 he made his second touchdown reception of the season.
After trailing 10-0, Baltimore (5-2) scored 34 straight points. Jackson improved to 23-1 against the NFC – the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history.
The Ravens tight end Mark Andrews made two touchdown receptions and now has 43 in his career, surpassing Todd Heap’s previous franchise record of 41.
Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, but aggravated a hamstring injury in the second quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game. His fellow wide receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with less than a minute to play.
Tampa head coach Todd Bowles said after the game that Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle and will be out indefinitely. “Chris is a great player, and he’s even more of a great person,” Bowles said. “You can’t say much… unfortunately they’re not going to cancel the games and we have to get up and move on, but our hearts are heavy.”
Buccaneers’ quarterback Baker Mayfield said, “I’m going to be thinking about Chris and Mike here for a while, but [we] have to move forward. This group will have to be resilient. We’re going to have to get guys to step up. And that is exactly the way it is.”
Baker Mayfield was 31 of 45 for 370 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for Tampa Bay (4-3). He was fired three times.
Tampa Bay tight end Cade Oton caught eight passes for 100 yards, and Rachaad White caught two TD passes.
Baltimore opened a 27-10 lead on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Bateman with 7:25 left in the third quarter. On the Ravens’ next possession, Henry’s 81-yard run set up a four-yard scoring pass from Jackson to Andrews.
Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers couldn’t handle a backward pass from Jackson, which was ruled a fumble, and the Buccaneers recovered. Tampa Bay took advantage and pulled within 34-18 on Mayfield’s 11-yard touchdown pass to White and a two-point conversion pass to Sterling Shepard with 11:24 remaining. However, Henry had a 33-yard run to impact the momentum. Henry then caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 41-18.
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. Tampa Bay’s running back Bucky Irving had a one-yard score and White caught a 23-yard TD reception to make it a 10-point game with just under two minutes remaining. The Ravens finished with 508 yards of offense, while the Buccaneers amassed 481 yards.
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In Monday night’s other game, Chad Ryland kicked a 32-yard field goal with no time left to give up the ball. Arizona Cardinals a 17-15 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Glendale, Ariz.
James Conner broke up a tackle attempt by Daiyan Henley near the line of scrimmage during a 33-yard reception on the decisive drive to move the ball to the Chargers’ 22-yard line and set up the winning kick. Conner totaled 152 yards (101 rushing, 51 receiving) and helped the Cardinals (3-4) win for the second time in the past three games. Kyler Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he also rushed for 64 yards and one touchdown.
Cameron Dicker matched his career high of five field goals to account for all of the points for the Chargers (3-3), who lost for the third time in four games. Dicker kicked a 40-yarder with 1:54 left to put Los Angeles ahead before the Cardinals’ winning streak.
Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for a season-high 349 yards for the Chargers. Los Angeles’ Will Dissly had 81 yards on a career-best eight catches.