Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery ran for two touchdowns each, and the Detroit Lions bullied their way to a 38-30 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.
The Lions (2-1) sacked Lamar Jackson seven times and outrushed the Ravens 224 yards to 85. Detroit scored on drives of 98 and 96 yards against a Baltimore front that was without defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike and showed little ability to handle the Lions physically up front.
“To get seven sacks [against Jackson] is insane, hats off to our defense,” said Lions receiver Amon-Ra St Brown after the game.
Up 31-24 at the two-minute warning, Detroit converted on fourth-and-two from their own 49 when Jared Goff completed a 21-yard pass to St Brown. Then Montgomery raced for a 31-yard touchdown with 1:42 to play, capping a 151-yard night for the running back.
Jackson threw his third touchdown pass of the night, a 27-yarder to Mark Andrews with 29 seconds remaining. A failed two-point conversion and a failed onside kick later, the Lions could kneel out the clock.
It was a jarring sight to see the Ravens (1-2) pushed around on their home field, where they lost for only the fourth time in 26 primetime games under coach John Harbaugh. When Gibbs and Montgomery weren’t running through the Baltimore defense, Goff had plenty of time to pick the Ravens apart as Detroit methodically advanced down the field. Goff completed 20 of 28 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown.
“We did exactly what we wanted to do, sustained long drives,” said Goff of his offense.
With the score tied at 21-21, the Lions faced fourth-and-one from the Baltimore four-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. St Brown took the ball on what initially looked like a jet sweep, then pitched it back to Gibbs, who scored easily.
After a field goal made it 28-24, the Ravens got a defensive stop, but Derrick Henry lost a fumble in a huge fourth-quarter spot for the second time in three weeks, giving Detroit the ball at the Baltimore 16. Still, the Lions couldn’t put the game away, settling for a field goal when that drive was derailed by a facemask penalty on Christian Mahogany. But the Ravens couldn’t move the ball and punted on fourth-and-nine. Then Montgomery made it a 14-point game.
The game started as advertised, with the Lions – fresh off a 52-point performance against Chicago – breezing down the field for an early 7-0 lead on a one-yard run by Gibbs. Then the Ravens – who reached 40 points in each of their first two games — quickly tied it on a 28-yard touchdown run by Henry.
The Lions then retook the lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Montgomery, which capped an 18-play, 98-yard drive that took 10:48 off the clock. The Ravens, down two of their top pass rushers with Madubuike (neck) and Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) out, did little to trouble Goff in the pocket.
Baltimore wasted a second-and-goal situation from the one-yard line later in the second quarter when Henry was stopped twice. On fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line, Jackson fumbled and the ball rolled all the way back to the 20, but when the Lions took over there, Baltimore’s defense held, and Jackson threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman to tie it at 14-14 with 24 seconds left in the half.
Baltimore took a 21-14 lead when Jackson threaded a 14-yard scoring pass to Mark Andrews in the third quarter, but Goff answered with an 18-yard touchdown strike to St Brown.
