TAMPA, Fla. — The gravity of the situation struck Marlon HumphreyAs he walked towards the locker room, there was still time in the second quarter. Humphrey needed to be checked on his hamstring. Before he entered, he didn’t realize that the visiting training room was already populated with some of the Ravens’ top players.
“I came in and I was like, ‘Crap, this guy is in here, this guy is in there,’” Humphrey said.
Ravens went down in the first half. They were only trailing by one touchdown and didn’t get blown out at Raymond James Stadium by their opponents. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Ravens couldn’t run the ball. In fact, they didn’t even try. They had difficulty finishing drives or extending them. They faced a third and 36 at one point during the second quarter. Justin TuckerHad a kick blocked. John Harbaugh was the head coach and had another fourth down decision go sour. To add insult to injury, Lamar Jackson’s top two targets, Mark Andrews(shoulder) Rashod Bateman(foot), were in the bathroom with issues that ended their night early.
Ravens say there was no finger-pointing, yelling or finger-pointing during halftime. The Ravens did have a plan for getting back to their offensive strength. The Ravens came out of the half running the ball and were never stopped. They broke the Buccaneers’ spirit by scoring touchdowns on three straight drives and getting points on all four of their full second-half possessions.
When one of the night’s unlikely heroes, rookie tight end Isaiah LikelyThe Ravens won a road victory by 27-22 and made their most significant statement in this season’s up-and-down. It wasn’t pretty at times and the Ravens continued to make things difficult on themselves, but they got by with their resilience and toughness, and with a recommitment to what they do best.
As Isaiah Likely awaits his turn on the podium, he is clutching the gameball. pic.twitter.com/A2tj2XVsNT
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) October 28, 2022
“It was just crazy how guys stepped up and we were able to replace those guys,” Humphrey said. “We just lost J.K. (Dobbins) a week ago. We lost so many guys recently and it’s been no complaining. The guys stepped up and did their best to help. We were able to come out with two wins these past two weeks.”
The Ravens are now the only team to win consecutive games this year. They are currently at the unofficial halfway point in the season and are now at 5-3. Only one game remains for them, a Monday evening road matchup against the New Orleans SaintsNovember 7, over a period of 23 days. Perfect timing, considering the litany of injuries.
They did not start as defensive leaders when they entered the game Calais Campbell(illness) Josh Bynes (quad). Outside linebackers Tyus BowserAnd David OjaboThey are still trying to get back. They lost Andrews, Bateman and a few other key players to what Harbaugh called non-long-term injuries. Their top running back was then replaced. Gus EdwardsIn the fourth quarter, he injured his hamstring.
Edwards had already limped off and the Ravens were poised to take the Buccaneers out of business. Jackson, surrounded with a group of unheralded, often misunderstood offensive skill position players did the honors.
“Shoot, playing for so long, you get a rhythm of the game and you kind of get a feeling of the guys across from you, and you know when it’s time for them to tap out,” said Ravens right tackle Morgan Moses. “That was me just feeling out the game, feeling the D-linemen, like, ‘Hey, man, this an opportunity where we could take advantage of it.’ And I think we executed it well.”
When he wasn’t taking care of his blocking assignment, Moses spent the second half yelling toward the Ravens’ sideline, imploring the coaches to keep running the ball. In the second half disaster, the Ravens ran just seven plays for 27 yards to a Buccaneers defense. Carolina PanthersRunning game one week before. Jackson was able to pass 30 times and couldn’t be blamed for halftime spent icing his right hand.
The Ravens ran 26 times in the second quarter for 204 yard. Jackson made all the throws that were necessary. In the final 30 minutes, he was 8-for-8 for 94.4 yards and two touchdowns. His 5-yard touchdown pass to Kenyan Drake on the team’s first drive of the second half tied the game at 10. The Ravens took a 10-yard lead when Likely’s pass to him in the back of goal zone gave them a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish with just five seconds remaining in the third quarter.
TOUCHDOWN @DaGorilla4!!!!
We are up 17-10!!
Listen to this @NFLonPrime. pic.twitter.com/8VIPYLq4CO
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 28, 2022
For as much as he and the offense struggled in the first half, Jackson played a near-perfect final two periods, setting the tone with a 25-yard run on the Ravens’ first play of the third quarter. He completed 27 out of 38 passes for 238 yard and two touchdowns, and ran nine times for 43 yard.
“Lamar is truly a home run just waiting to happen,” said Ravens right guard Kevin Zeitler. “You never know when it’s going to come. It could be the darkest night ever, and it’s like, boom, he is the sun coming, just like that. He’s awesome to play (with). I’m glad I’m on his team.”
Other standouts were also present. After a dynamic preseason, Likely entered the game with just 10 catches for 104 yards, He stepped up after Andrews’ departure and finished as his team’s leading receiver with six receptions for 77 yards and a score, along with the game-securing onside kick recovery.
“It was really just a confidence thing,” said Likely. “It was Rashod and Mark just looking the offense in the eyes and telling (us), ‘Y’all got this. Whether we’re there or not, y’all got this.’”
Demarcus RobertHis best game as a Raven was when he caught six passes for 64 yards. Devin DuvernayHe had 64 all-purpose yards. His touchdown run of 15 yards on third-and-1 at the end of the fourth quarter gave the Ravens a lead of 24-13.
“A lot of people don’t know about our guys, but I feel like we do,” Jackson said. “We do a lot in practice, and those guys show it each and every day. They got an opportunity tonight, and they showed up.”
TOUCHDOWN @Dev_Duv5‼️‼️
WE’RE UP 24-13. AMAZON PRIME – TUNE IN pic.twitter.com/rOH05lTDZc
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 28, 2022
It was a bit tense down the stretch for these Ravens who have enjoyed double-digit lead in eight of their eight games. There was no denying that the game was close. Tom BradyBuccaneers are saved by heroics in the last game.
“This was kind of a fight to the end kind of game from an energy standpoint, in terms of not wearing down and executing when you’re tired,” Harbaugh said. “Trying to wear an opponent down, both teams were trying to do that, and our guys prevailed in that.”
Thursday night was a great example of how dangerous the Ravens can still be if they stay true to their strengths. In many ways, the victory was straight out of their 2019 season playbook, when they featured a bend-but-don’t-break defense and an offense that got rolling on the ground and never quite let opposing defenses up for air.
The Ravens scored three touchdown drives in the second half that had at least nine plays and 77 yard. They then had a 49-yard, five-play drive to regain a lead of two possessions. The Tucker field goal ended the drive. Brady was forced to try and recover from 11 points behind with less than two minutes left. He wasn’t up to the task.
Brady made plays against the Ravens, and received some help with some big penalties. However, the Buccaneers punted five consecutive possessions that spanned halftime and failed to score on eight of their drives.
“It was one of those times where you sit on the bench and you look up and five minutes went off the clock. I remember in 2019, it seemed like we were sitting there saying, ‘We’ve got to get two more stops to win the game.’ The next thing you know, the game was over,” Humphrey said. “You’ve got to shout out to the offense and the O-line. They won the game today. It was really amazing to see the Bucs getting worn down. It was really great to see that.”
Harbaugh, as well as several other players, said that the offensive game plan was successful. The Ravens had the idea of throwing the ball early, which would have a surprising effect on the Buccaneers. Baltimore believed it would be a lot more successful than against a Tampa Bay team that had little of its secondary.
At the very least, the Ravens figured they’d tire out the Buccaneers and their pass rushers on a warm night by throwing early. They would then switch to running in the second period.
“That was kind of the idea (and) I guess it’s kind of what happened at the end of the day,” said fullback Patrick Ricard. “We passed the ball a lot more than we normally do. In the second half, we were able running the ball.
“I don’t think anybody was freaking out or blinking an eye, like, ‘Oh, my God, we don’t have our best players.’ Guys just knew you have to play. Do your best, just step up and execute the plays. I think guys did well.”
(Photo of Lamar Jackson & Isaiah Likely by Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images
