The Baltimore Ravens were without Lamar Jackson on Sunday night. This could ultimately be a good thing for their season.
The Ravens earned a confidence-boosting victory Sunday night with Tyler Huntley at quarterback. They were without Jackson, who was inactive with an ankle injury. They trailed the Atlanta Falcons, the hottest team in the NFL over the previous two weeks, by eight points with less than three minutes remaining. And they found a way to get a win that can energize a team for a long time.
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The Ravens tied the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion within 40 seconds, then went on a long drive to start overtime. Huntley scored on a quarterback hit with 2:57 left in the overtime period.
When the Falcons got their first overtime drive, Tua Tagovailoa was at quarterback. Michael Penix Jr. suffered a rib injury during the Falcons’ final regulation practice and was held out for overtime. After a pass, Tagovailoa threw an interception to Kyle Hamilton and the game was over. The Ravens held on for a huge 30-23 victory and they are 4-1 to start the season.
The Ravens will welcome Jackson back, and they hope it will be soon. But Baltimore now knows it’s enough to pull off a tough road win without its superstar quarterback.
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The hawks strike first
The Ravens offense made a big mistake early and it wasn’t due to Huntley. Andrews caught a pass over the middle, had the ball punched by Falcons safety Sydney Brown and Jessie Bates III scooped it up and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.
It happened one drive after Andrews dropped what would have been a touchdown pass and the Ravens settled for a field goal. With Jackson out, the other Ravens had to play well around Huntley, and Andrews wasn’t helping. Andrews then had a two-point conversion snatched before securing the catch.
But the Ravens defense was locked in from the start. Baltimore was the team with the backup quarterback, but Michael Penix Jr. didn’t finish until midway through the second quarter. Even with zero passing yards for a quarter and a half, the Falcons led on defensive touchdowns.
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Penix and the Falcons offense finally got going. Penix hit Drake London for 25 yards, Jahan Dotson for 36, then found Kyle Pitts Sr. for a 5-yard touchdown.
Although they were very good on defense for most of the first half, the Ravens still trailed 14-9 at halftime. But they stayed in the game, even without Jackson at quarterback.
The Ravens force overtime
Atlanta tried to be tricky in the third quarter and it cost them dearly. The Falcons had flagged tackle Jake Matthews as eligible and sneaked him out on a pass route to the end zone. But Matthews failed to make the pass and the Falcons ended up settling for a field goal. After that, Derrick Henry had an 18-yard touchdown run out of the backfield. The two-point conversion failed but the Ravens were within 17-15.
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The Falcons added a couple field goals in the fourth quarter to take a 23-15 lead with 2:31 left. The Ravens needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion, and Huntley delivered.
Huntley quickly brought the Ravens into Falcons territory. The drive continued and Huntley hit Devontez Walker for a touchdown with 40 seconds left. Derrick Henry took a direct hit into the end zone for the two-point conversion to tie the game. The Falcons couldn’t get into field goal range — Penix took a big hit on that drive that would have knocked him out in overtime — and the game went to overtime.
Huntley made a couple of big passes on third down to start the overtime. Henry pushed the pile for another first down. Huntley hit Andrews for another first down inside the 10-yard line. The Falcons had to start calling timeouts because the drive from Baltimore was taking up a lot of time. Atlanta’s defense couldn’t get off the field. Huntley advanced for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:57 left in overtime. It was the Ravens’ first lead since 3-0. Hamilton sealed the victory with an interception.
The Ravens could view Sunday night’s win as an important turning point for their season.
Jack Baer
Tyler Huntley: 24 for 32, 201 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 3 sacks, 20 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Derrick Henry: 102 yards on 24 carries and an 18-yard receiving touchdown
Michael Penix Jr: 19 for 32, 240 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 3 sacks
Tua Tagovailoa: 2 for 3, 1 interception
Drake London: 7 catches and 118 yards on 11 targets
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Tua Tagovailoa found Drake London 20 yards with his first pass, but Kyle Hamilton then recovered his second to end the game. The Ravens leave Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a victory despite the absence of Lamar Jackson.
Baltimore is 4-1 and grabs first place in the AFC North.
Jack Baer
Michael Penix Jr. has a rib injury and his return is doubtful. He is sitting on his side with a towel on his head. It looks like Tagovailoa will be the pass rusher tasked with a comeback.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Tyler Huntley scores on the QB sneak (sorry Derrick Henry fantasy players) and the Falcons need a touchdown with 2:57 left.
What a pair of drives from the Ravens, who continued to push Atlanta back in every important point.
Jack Baer
The Falcons keep Derrick Henry out of the end zone, but he brings the ball to the 1-yard line and forces the Falcons to use their last timeout. This drive also burned seven minutes of the clock.
Jack Baer
Derrick Henry has 31 rushing yards on this drive. This Falcons defense looks gassed.
Jason Owens
Tyler Huntley got the Ravens moving again, and they’re at midfield with overtime almost halfway through.
Jason Owens
The Ravens won the toss and will receive the overtime kickoff.
Each team will have a chance to score on offense. If the tie persists after each team has the ball, the game ends suddenly. If it’s still tied after 10 minutes, we’ll have our second NFL tie of the day.
Jason Owens
Michael Penix Jr. took a big hit and had to come out of the game for a play in favor of backup Tua Tagovailoa. But he was able to come back one play later and threw a miss on Atlanta’s final offensive play in regulation.
The Falcons went one play later, and regulation time expired before the ball was dead, sending the game into overtime tied at 23-23.
Jason Owens
Needing two yards for two scores, the Ravens took the most direct route possible. Derrick Henry took a direct snap and ran down the left edge to convert, and the game was tied at 23-23 with 40 seconds left.
A sensational touchdown run by Huntley and a clutch conversion from Henry.
Jason Owens
Tyler Huntley bought time with his feet and extended the Ravens’ run before the 2-minute warning with a first-down pass to Rashod Bateman.
A 20-yard pass to Bateman put the Ravens on first goal. And a seven-yard pass to Devontez Walker got the Ravens into the end zone.
They now need a two-point conversion to tie the game on the other side of a timeout. Huntley’s clutch play in place of injured starter Lamar Jackson
Jason Owens
The Falcons had a chance to burn the rest of the clock with the lead and a possession that began with 6:23 on the game clock.
They didn’t make it. But they extended their lead to 23-15 with a basket with 2:31 remaining. It’s a good result for the Falcons who burned more than four minutes late, but keeps the Ravens within striking distance.
Jason Owens
Baltimore seemed to turn the corner in this game with a hot start to the second inning.
But the Ravens are now down 3 on consecutive possessions after failing to convert on a tying 2-point attempt. The Falcons take over on a punt with a 20-15 lead and a chance to ice the game with 6:23 left in regulation.
It’s Bijan Robinson time.
Jason Owens
Michael Penix saved a possession with a 19-yard run to Drake London on third-and-15.
The drive eventually got bogged down in the red zone and the Falcons settled for a field goal to extend their lead to 20-15. But they don’t get those points without the clutch third-down conversion that put Atlanta in Baltimore territory.
Jason Owens
The T-shirt under his pads just got Tyler Huntley fired.
Samson Ebukam chased down Huntley on a pass rush, but couldn’t get a hand on his body. But he grabbed a handful of Huntley’s T-shirt and managed to drag him down for a 7-yard loss.
The third sack forced a punt and the Falcons recovered the ball near their own goal line.
Jason Owens
The situation is evolving in favor of Baltimore.
The Ravens have just forced a loss on fourth-and-2 and are taking over at their own 41-yard line with a two-point deficit and a chance to take the lead with a touchdown or field goal.
Michael Penix Jr. was immediately under pressure on the play and a screen pass to Charlie Woerner was stopped for a loss in the backfield.
Jason Owens
There’s nothing wrong with Baltimore’s ground game tonight.
Justice Hill rumbled 47 yards to put the Ravens in the red zone. Derrick Henry followed up with an 18-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Baltimore missed a 2-point conversion and Atlanta’s lead was cut to 17-15.
Jason Owens
Bijan Robinson caught fire in the third quarter and propelled the Falcons into the red zone with a 38-yard run through the Baltimore secondary.
But Michael Penix was off target on two throws in the end zone, and Atlanta settled for a field goal and a 17-9 lead.
One of those off-target passes was just a little too high for left tackle Jake Matthews, who declared himself eligible and was standing wide open in the end zone. It was a catchable ball, but he’s an offensive tackle. The score would have been the first of his career.
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