No Nnamdi Madubuike, no Kyle Van Noy, no stopping Detroit.
The Lions came into Monday night’s showdown with the Ravens second in the NFL in touchdown efficiency. The only team better? Baltimore.
It didn’t matter.
Without two of their Pro Bowl defenders, the Ravens struggled to get any pressure on quarterback Jared Goff, and the maestro of one of the league’s top offensive attacks made them pay in a 38-30 victory at M&T Bank Stadium.
Goff completed 20 of 28 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown. Running back David Montgomery also had 151 yards rushing and two scores, and Jahmyr Gibbs added another 67 yards and two scores as Detroit ran for 224 yards and sacked Lamar Jackson seven times.
The 224 yards rushing are the third-most given up by a Ravens team under John Harbaugh. Just as vexing: the 111 points Baltimore has scored this season are the most through three games by a team with a losing record in NFL history, according to ESPN research.
Jackson finished 21 of 27 passes for 288 yards and three scores.
Still, the Ravens (1-2) had a chance until Derrick Henry fumbled for the third time this season midway through the fourth quarter after a hit from Aidan Hutchinson jarred the ball loose. Detroit (2-1) recovered at the Ravens’ 16-yard line, and kicker Jake Bates then tacked on a 45-yard field goal.
Henry is the only back to have coughed it up three times this young season, and it marked the first time that he has had multiple fourth-quarter fumbles in a season.
The other came in a Week 1 loss to the Bills, also at a crucial part of the game. This defeat will no doubt sting, too.
But if there was a series that was a microcosm of the Ravens’ woes without Madubuike and Van Noy, who combined for 33 sacks over the past two-plus season, it came late in the third quarter. With the game tied at 21, Detroit took over on its own 4-yard line and promptly moved down the field in seven plays with Gibbs scoring from 4 yards out on a double toss.
The last time the Ravens had allowed a 95-yard touchdown drive at home was in 2001.
On Monday night, they allowed two of them.
The other came late in the opening quarter and stretched for most of the second as Detroit’s methodical 18-play, 98-yard drive chewed up 10:48. The Lions converted four third downs along the way, including two from beyond 5 yards, and ended with a 1-yard score from Montgomery.
Time and again, Baltimore simply couldn’t stop Detroit.
That included with just under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Clinging to a 31-24 lead, Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown (seven catches, 77 yards) on a 20-yard pass over Marlon Humphrey to convert a fourth-and-2 from his own 49-yard line. One play later, Montgomery broke loose again, ripping through the defense for a 31-yard score.
Jackson led Baltimore on a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive in 1:13 that ended with a 27-yard score to tight end Mark Andrews (six catches, 91 yards, two touchdowns) to pull Baltimore within 38-30 with 29 seconds to go. But the Ravens failed to convert the 2-point conversion and then failed to recover the onside kick.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.
