Buccaneers Drop Third Straight in 22-27 Loss to the Baltimore Ravens

Tampa Bay fell on the wrong side of the scoreboard once again Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens. The final score was 27-22 as the Buccaneers are now 3-5 on the season. It is the first time Tom Brady has been below .500 for two straight games in his long career. The Atlanta Falcons are now in the lead for the NFC South for the time being until Sunday’s action.

Offense Once Again Falls Short on Execution

The time of possession differential was major as the Ravens had the football for about 17 minutes more than the Bucs did. This means drives were not maintained as much by Tampa Bay as they should have been. They also were only 4-of-13 on third down conversions.

Just like last week, the run attack was non-existent, as it was kept at bay by the Baltimore defense who allowed 2.9 yards a carry. Leonard Fournette got the scoring started for Tampa Bay with a rushing touchdown, however, he only had 24 yards for the game. Rookie Rachaad White had just 19 yards, too.

Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both had an astounding 123-yard and 75-yard performances, respectively. The connection between the two of them and their quarterback still looks shaky. Brady still looked slightly uncomfortable getting the ball down field as opposed to the little dump-offs he’d give to his other targets.

Julio Jones returned to the playing field for the first time since the beginning of the month against Kansas City. He had a couple of catches with the only receiving touchdown in the game.

Ravens’ linebacker Justin Houston was very disruptive, getting to Brady twice and defensive tackle Justin Madubuike got to the Buccaneers’ passer once. The pressure often came at key moments in the game to push any momentum in Baltimore’s direction.

Brady on the Buccaneers moving forward with five losses: “It’s not where we want to be. But we haven’t earned it. So we got to go earn it. We got to fight hard and figure out how to win games.”

Defense Starts Game Strong, But Lets Up in the Second Half

Tampa Bay had a 10-3 lead going into halftime. They had Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson rattled as they were unable to move the ball effectively. The pressure on the Ravens’ passer came from everywhere. Joe Tyron-Shoyinka, Vita Vea, and Shaquil Barrett all got to the former MVP.

Barrett unfortunately suffered an achilles injury that will have him sidelined for some time. He will be missed as a big time presence applying outside pressure.

The penalties were killer for the Ravens in keeping Tampa Bay in the game. They had seven of them which gave up 101 yards.

Once Baltimore took a deep breath and found their stride though, the second half was theirs. Jackson found Isaiah Likely and Kenyan Drake for touchdowns. He also finished with 238 yards on the game. He eventually was able to find holes in the secondary that he did not see in the first half.

Despite getting broken down, the Bucs’ secondary had a busy day with cornerback Mike Edwards recording 11 tackles, Keanu Neal recording eight tackles, and fellow cornerback Jamel Dean having six tackles. Rookie Zyon McCollum had five tackles, too; it was his best game of his young career.

The Ravens run game woke up as Devin White could not fill the holes to stop the run game as he did in the first half. The Ravens offensive line was able to point him out and take him out of the play. This allowed running backs Gus Edwards and Kenyan Drake to have solid games with 65 and 62 yards, respectively.

Ultimately, the Bucs were outscored in the second half 24-12 and it lead to their third straight loss.

Up Next

Tampa Bay will play the defending super bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in Raymond James Stadium next Sunday. It is a rematch of last season’s divisional round. Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. E.T.