Ravens Win Thriller in Overtime Against Rams

The 9-3 Baltimore Ravens welcomed the 6-6 Los Angeles Rams, for a matchup that saw one team looking to keep a hold of the top of the AFC. While the other looked to keep their winning streak, and playoff hopes alive.

It was an uncommon start for the Ravens as the offense was forced to punt and the defense allowed a 13-play 67 yard drive that ended with a Lucas Havrisik 27-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

It took until late in the first quarter for the Ravens to finally get on the scoreboard, and they did so with a bang. On the third play of the drive Lamar Jackson would find his tight end Isaiah Likely wide open down the Rams sideline for the 54-yard score.

What was expected to be a low scoring game due to the poor weather became anything but that. The Rams would answer with a Cooper Kupp six-yard score followed by a Lamar Jackson 46-yard bomb to Odell Beckham Jr. to regain the lead for the Ravens early in the second quarter.

But the Ravens defense was struggling to get stops as Kupp and rookie recevier Puka Nuka helped lead a nine-play 75 yard Rams drive that would be capped off by a Matthew Stafford seven-yard touchdown throw to tight end Davis Allen.

The Rams and Ravens would trade field goals to end the half with the Rams ahead 20-17.

The Ravens would tie it up on their first possession of the second half as Justin Tucker was good from 47-yards out. A Rams punt on their following possession looked to give momentum to the Ravens as they looked to take back the lead.

Backed up at their own 10-yard line, Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum snapped the ball before Jackson was ready forcing the quarterback to kick the ball out of the back of the end zone for the safety, giving the lead back to the Rams 22-20 midway through the third quarter.

But once again the Ravens defense stood strong as the Rams got the ball back following the safety, forcing a punt and limiting would could have become a game altering play. A Justin Tucker 33-yard field goal to finish a 12-play 65 yard drive would give the Ravens a one point lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the game.

The Rams weren’t done however with 4:41 to play Stafford would find former Ravens recevier Demarcus Robinson for the five-yard score to take the lead 28-23.

Jackson and the Ravens offense took the field again methodically working their way down the field. Using his leg and his arm Jackson got the Ravens in position to take the lead late. But on second down a questionable call by the officials nearly derailed the Ravens comeback. Jackson was sacked, but on review it appeared Jackson was able to throw the ball before his knee was down. But because the original ruling on the field was a fumble the review could only determine if it was a fumble or a pass, not if Jackson’s knee was down. Now facing a third and seventeen, Jackson dropped back to pass finding a cross Zay Flowers in the end zone for the 21-yard go ahead score. Flowers would add the two-point conversion as well on a roll out pass from Jackson.

With 1:16 left to play and the Ravens leading 31-28, the Ravens defense needed just one more stop to seal the win. However, much like it was for the entire game Stafford would find Kupp for 34-yards down to the Ravens 22-yard line. With under a minute to play the Rams were in field goal range, but were looking for the win. A dropped interception by Marlon Humphrey in the end zone nearly gave the Ravens the win, but the Rams would eventually settle for the last second field goal to force overtime.

But in overtime it would be the Ravens unlikeliest hero that would send the Rams back to L.A. with a loss. Replacing an injured Devin Duvernay fourth-year wide receiver Tylan Wallace became the next man up to return punts. Wallace up to this point had dealt with several injuries in his career, and has been largely a special teams player, yet to make many impact plays. But that would all change on Sunday as Wallace fielded his third punt of the game with just over eight minutes to play in overtime.

Wallace sprinted to his left near the Ravens sideline breaking several tackles before bursting up the sideline. As Wallace crossed over midfield he was nearly tripped up by a Rams defender, but was able to keep his feet on his way to a 76-yard game punt return touchdown to give the Ravens a 37-31 victory. Wallace’s return was the fourth walk-off game winning punt return in NFL history.

It wasn’t a pretty win, but the offense particularly Lamar Jackson was has dominate as he had been all season. Jackson finished 24-for-43 for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Jackson was also the Ravens leading rusher as he rushed 11 times for 70 yards. Only Gus Edwards and Keaton Mitchell carried the ball outside of Jackson and finished with a combined 15 carries for 69 yards. While you want to see the Ravens run game look better than it did on Sunday, it was a testament to offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jackson, and the Ravens receivers to win a game when a large part of the offense was struggling.

Defensively the Ravens did just enough to help seal the win, but there is a concern with the Ravens run defense. Rams running back Kyren Williams finished Sunday with 25 carries for 114 yards. Williams along with Kupp and Nacua nearly combining for 200 yards receiving was a near recipe for a Ravens loss. The Rams offensively are no slouches, but the Ravens defense needs to tighten up as they will face even better offenses down the stretch.

The Ravens now 10-3 will have an even tougher matchup next Sunday night as they travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. The Jaguars are coming off of two straight losses and sit at 8-5. A win will all but clinch a playoff spot for the Ravens with three games remaining.

Notable Injuries:

Devin Duvernay (back)- Week-to-Week

Kyle Hamilton (knee)- Day-to-Day

Games Notes:

Linebacker Roquan Smith led all Ravens with 10 tackles.

Defensive lineman Justin Madubuike has now recorded at least a half sack in 10 straight games.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s 316 passing yards is a season high.

Tylan Wallace became the sixth player this season to return a punt for a touchdown.

Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. led all Ravens receivers with 97 receiving yards.