Baltimore vs. Indianapolis
Jackson’s Career Day Sparks Fourth Quarter Comeback, OT Win Against Indy
“Can’t throw the ball consistently,” “glorified running back,” the criticisms against quarterback Lamar Jackson by his detractors have been shouting them since he broke into the league in 2018.
Those same critics were served a huge side of crow on Monday Night Football as Jackson razzled and dazzled with a career night throwing the ball in a 31-25 overtime victory versus Indianapolis.
“You can’t say that anymore,” laughed tight end Mark Andrews. “Look at the last couple of games, he’s just calm, composed, and he’s a leader, man. That’s what we all look to.”
Baltimore’s franchise dual threat star threw for a personal best 442 yards and four touchdowns, rallying the Ravens from 16 points down with under 10 minutes to play. Jackson connected with Mark Andrews on two short touchdown passes and a pair of two-point conversions to erase a 25-9 deficit and force overtime. In the extra session, Jackson found Marquise Brown for the walk-off game-winner on a 5-yard passing TD.
“It’s one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen,” head coach John Harbaugh described of his franchise quarterback’s night. “And it wasn’t easy.”
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Jackson got just enough assistance from his defense to complete the comeback. Calais Campbell sidestepped a blocker and got two hands on a field goal attempt by Indianapolis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship. The 37-yard try with 4:29 remaining in regulation kept it a one possession game.
“Like I said, we just have that ‘don’t flinch’ mentality,” outside linebacker Odafe Oweh said. “We knew that they were going to try to make plays, and we were going to have to hunker down and really try to stop them. When adversity hit, we strapped our boots up, and we got it done.”
The Ravens had to dodge one more bullet in order to get to the extra session as Blankenship lined up for a 47-yard field goal as time expired. The kick sailed wide left. The Ravens won the coin toss and embarked on a 10-play, 68-yard drive on the only possession of OT as Jackson’s confidence in his team’s ability was brimming.
“I’m going to be honest, no,” quarterback Lamar Jackson told reporters following the dramatic outcome. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. Our team, we hit that peak that we needed at the right time (in) the second half, and we just knew it was one play at a time.”
First place in the AFC North Division now belongs solely to the Ravens after Cincinnati and Cleveland both lost on Sunday.
Indianapolis quarterback Carson Wentz had a career night of his own in a losing effort. The former Eagle threw for 402 yards and two touchdowns, including a 76-yard swing pass to Jonathan Taylor. The running back added a rushing score in the third quarter, which gave the Colts a 22-3 advantage.
If there was one drawback to the victory it came at the expense of the team’s record-tying ground game. The 86 yards rushing brought an end to a 43-game streak of 100-or-more, matching a mark by the 1970’s Steelers.
GAME RECAP
Baltimore opened the game with a quick three-and-out on offense. Indianapolis seemed bound for the same before Jonathan Taylor took a swing pass on 3rd-and-15 and split four defenders for a 76-yard catch, run, and score to start the scoring at 7-0.
A 3rd down conversion by Mark Andrews was challenged and overturned, forcing another Baltimore punt. The Colts drove inside the red zone with a steady mix of runs and passes but Odafe Oweh strip sacked quarterback Carson Wentz and Brandon Williams recovered the loose football.
The first quarter closed with both sides exchanging a pair of punts and Baltimore finally got on the board with 1:39 remaining in the half behind a 23-yard Justin Tucker field goal. Indy followed that with an 8-play, 56-yard drive, capped by a field goal of their own as Rodrigo Blankenship connected from 37 yards away at the horn to increase their lead to 10-3.
Indianapolis opened the second half by going 73 yards on just two plays: a 31-yard completion from Wentz to Zach Pascal followed by a 42-yard scoring strike to Michael Pittman. The extra point from Blankenship failed, keeping the score 16-3.
The Ravens looked prime to match as Jackson marched the offense down to 1st-and-goal at the 1. Julian Blackmon jarred the football free on Jackson’s intended quarterback draw though and Darius Leonard recovered it for a turnover.
A pair of completions from Wentz and a trio of rushes by Taylor moved the Colts down the field immediately and the running back recorded his second touchdown of the evening, a 4-yard rush, to extend the advantage to 22-3.
The Ravens finally found the endzone on the ensuing series as Marquise Brown got behind the secondary and Jackson found him for a 43-yard touchdown toss. The two-point conversion QB keeper by Jackson failed and the score remained 22-9 with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.
Blankenship got the Colts’ edge back up to 16 with a 43-yard field goal with 12:04 to play.
Jackson responded with a perfect 6-of-6 on the following possession, capped by a 5-yard strike to Andrews. He found Andrews in the flat on the two-point conversion attempt to make it a one score ballgame, 25-17, with 9:38 remaining.
Indianapolis ate more than five minutes of game clock, but came up empty-handed when Calais Campbell sidestepped his blocker and got two hands on Blankenship’s 37-yard field goal try.
Four-and-a-half minutes proved to be more than enough time for Jackson, who found Andrews once again for a touchdown and two-pointer to even the score at 25-all in the closing minute of regulation.
Completions from Wentz to Parris Campbell and Pascal set Blankenship up again for a would-be game-winning try, but his 47-yard attempt at the buzzer sailed wide left, setting the stage for overtime.
Baltimore won the coin toss and Jackson again was perfect, completing all six of his attempts. The finale, a 5-yard hookup with Brown for the game-winner, providing the 31-25 final score in OT.
UP NEXT
Baltimore (4-1) continues its four game homestand at M&T Bank Stadium against another franchise riding a winning streak. The Los Angeles Chargers (4-1) won its third consecutive in come-from-behind fashion on Sunday against the Browns. Quarterback Justin Herbert threw for nearly 400 yards and Austin Ekeler scored two touchdowns in the final 3:15 for a 47-42 shootout victory against Cleveland.