TAMPA, Fla. – There was no panic in Baltimore’s locker room after the team’s pass-happy offensive approach mustered just three points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5).
The Ravens shifted to what they do best after halftime, rushing for over 200 yards in the third and fourth quarters on the way to 27-22 victory that gave them consecutive victories for the first time this season.
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“I feel like the whole offense was hungry,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said.
Jackson threw for 238 yards and two second-half touchdowns, but the turning point came on the Ravens' first offensive play of the third quarter when the quarterback ran up the middle for a gain of 25 yards to near mid-field.
“That long scramble where he got out of there and got that first down, that was big,” Ravens coach Jack Harbaugh said. “I think that took a little steam out of them, too, in terms of the pass rush because you don't want to see that happen. It slows you down a little bit.”
Jackson beat Tom Brady for the second time in two career meetings, directing TD drives of 77, 80 and 85 yards after Baltimore sputtered early and trailed 10-3 at halftime.
The Ravens rushed for 231 yards, while Jackson completed 27 of 38 passes without an interception, including TD throws of 5 yards to Kenyon Drake and 10 yards to Isaiah Likely in the third quarter.
Baltimore scored on its first four possessions after halftime, with Justin Tucker booting a 30-yard field goal to make it 27-16 with a little over two minutes remaining.
“I'm really proud of the guys,” Harbaugh said. “At the end our guys had a little more left. You could see in terms of the execution.”
The Ravens, meanwhile, wasted a couple opportunities take control early, settling for a 22-yard field goal after recovering a fumble at the Bucs 6 on a punt return and coming away with no points when Jackson threw incomplete into end zone on fourth-and-3 from the Tampa Bay 10 late in the second quarter.
“I thought we’d do better than three points ... we all felt we’d score a little more than three, but their defense is tough.” Harbaugh said of the first-half offensive plan. “We couldn’t just get going with first downs and getting drives extended.”