The Baltimore Ravens won their fifth straight game Monday night, cruising past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-31.
The Buccaneers raced out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter before the Ravens scored the next 34 points. Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson threw for five touchdowns.
Baker Mayfield started hot for Tampa Bay, completing eight of his first nine passes for 101 yards and a score. But he threw two interceptions in the first half that led to 10 Baltimore points, and the Bucs’ offense could never recapture its form.
The Ravens’ offense, on the other hand, was dominant.
In addition to Jackson’s 281 yards passing, the team added 244 yards rushing on 30 carries — an 8.1 yards-per-carry average. Derrick Henry was unstoppable, running for 169 yards on only 15 carries — including an 81-yard rumble in the third quarter that set up Jackson’s fourth touchdown.
Baltimore averaged 9.4 yards per play even after it trotted out its backups for its final possession.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers not only lost the game; they also lost multiple key contributors.
After having been limited in practice during the week with a hamstring injury, receiver Mike Evans appeared to aggravate it in the first half. He limped off the field, went to the locker room and never returned after he dropped a pass in the end zone in the second quarter.
And in the fourth quarter — with the game essentially out of hand — receiver Chris Godwin was carted off with an air cast on his left leg with only 43 seconds left. Godwin sustained the injury as Tampa Bay tried to mount a comeback trailing by 10 points with less than a minute to go and no timeouts.
The Ravens improved to 5-2, keeping pace with the Pittsburgh Steelers to remain tied for first place in the AFC North.
After a 3-1 start, the Buccaneers have lost two of their last three to fall to 4-3.