Lamar Jackson, who might be having the best season of his career, made it seem easy.
The two-time MVP passed for 281 yards and five touchdowns on Monday night, helping the Baltimore Ravens come back from an early double-digit deficit and extend their winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.
“Trying to win. That’s all that’s on my mind,” Jackson said after the AFC North co-leaders scored on seven out of nine possessions before he was taken out of the game with just under two minutes remaining.
“I’m proud of him. I’m happy for him. He’s a great leader, a great player,” coach John Harbaugh added. “He’s the ultimate competitor on a level with the greatest competitors I’ve ever seen.”
Jackson’s record improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, which is the best record by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He is 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who struggled after taking a 10-0 lead with help from Mike Evans’ 100th career touchdown reception.
Evans left the game with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield attempted to throw to him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter, leading receiver Chris Godwin was taken off the field on a cart due to a left ankle injury. ESPN chose not to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which seemed serious.
“Early indication is that it’s dislocated. Doesn’t look good,” said Bucs coach Todd Bowles, who defended the choice to keep Godwin on the field in the closing minutes.
“He’s a player. We’re trying to win the ballgame. We were still down 10, trying to get extra points and kick another onside kick. It just happened,” Bowles added. “With Mike (Evans) going down, we didn’t have that many receivers left, so we play with what we got.”
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without throwing an interception, including touchdown throws of 9 and 4 yards to Mark Andrews. He also had scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill, and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who ran for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman caught four passes for 121 yards.
The Ravens (5-2) bounced back from a slow start on defense, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey changing the game with two interceptions in the second quarter—one of which was in the Baltimore end zone.
After the first interception, Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, and the second pick set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal, giving the Ravens a 17-10 lead at halftime.
“It doesn’t matter when, where or what. He’s the ultimate competitor,” Andrews said about Jackson. “It’s just play after play after play of him making big-time plays and helping this team win games. He does it better than anybody in the league. He lays it all out on the line every game. He’s the best. He’s the MVP.”
Mayfield finished the game by completing 31 of 45 passes for 370 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Evans became one of the few players, alongside Hall of Famers like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, and Terrell Owens, to have at least 100 touchdown receptions in the first 11 seasons of his career when he caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Evans, who missed two days of practice last week due to a lingering hamstring issue, seemed to worsen the injury on the touchdown catch. Mayfield almost connected with him in the end zone again in the second quarter, but this time the ball slipped off Evans’ hands as he and Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens fell to the ground.
Evans lay on the ground for several minutes before getting helped up and limping to the locker room. He did not return to the game.
The Bucs played at home for the first time since Hurricane Milton hit Florida’s Gulf Coast, causing significant damage in the Tampa Bay area and along its path across the state. The Bucs had to move to New Orleans ahead of the storm, where they practiced for four days before defeating the Saints 51-7 last week.
The Ravens lead the NFL with 1,476 rushing yards this season and have rushed for at least 150 yards in every game.
With 243 rushing yards on Monday night, they became the fourth team since 1980 to start a season with at least 1,400 yards in their first seven games. The other teams are the 1984 Chicago Bears (1,508), the 2006 Atlanta Falcons (1,476), and the 2019 Ravens (1,429).
Henry’s touchdown catch midway through the fourth quarter made the score 41-18. The Bucs scored twice in the final minutes, including after successfully recovering an onside kick, marking the second time this season the Ravens have failed to recover an opponent’s onside kick.
These late scores gave the Bucs a small chance of hope, which quickly faded when Godwin got hurt while being tackled by Roquan Smith after a 21-yard catch with about a minute left.
