Madden predicts Ravens games: 2016, week three

Fresh off a win over Cleveland, the Ravens are riding high thanks to their 2-0 start.  They now head to Jacksonville to take on a Jaguars team who generated a lot of buzz throughout the offseason for the litany of moves they made that should improve their roster.

After a Justin Tucker kickoff resulting in a touchback, third-year man Blake Bortles heads out to take control of this young and exciting offense.

Immediately, the Ravens are hit with a roughing the passer penalty, but it didn't do much for the Jaguars, who stall out and punt quickly following the penalty.

A nice punt sets up the Ravens at their own six-yard line. After converting a few first downs, they ultimately become stopped by the Jags, and have to punt it away.

The Jaguars stall on their next drive after Bortles takes a seven-yard sack. They are forced to punt back to the Ravens once again.

To continue the theme of offensive ineptitude, the Ravens punt back to the Jags after a long Flacco sack, and Bortles would take over at the Jacksonville 20 yard line.

Guess what?  They went three and out again after a few incompletions to tight end Julius Thomas, punting it right back to the Ravens offense near midfield.

Now with decent field position, the Ravens have a good chance to finally get something going.  A few short runs by Flacco and Forsett put them into field goal range, but Steve Smith Sr. has other plans for the offense.

A 36-yard touchdown catch by Smitty gives the Ravens the first strike in what has otherwise been a snoozer.

BAL- 7, JAX- 0

The Jaguars wouldn't get anything going following the touchdown, and punt it back to the Ravens to start the second quarter.  A few nice holes open up for Forsett, and a long completion to Benjamin Watson aren't enough to keep them going. Near midfield, Sam Koch punts it away for a Jacksonville touchback.  Yet again, they go three-and-out, giving the ball right back to the Ravens.

Maxx Williams and Ben Watson each haul in some long passes, and the Ravens ride Javorius Allen on four straight carries to get them down to the red zone.  Flacco takes a third-down sack on the four-yard line, bringing out Justin Tucker for a chip shot field goal.

BAL- 10, JAX- 0

The Jaguars again can't get anything going, and they punt it to the Ravens who hope to capitalize on their lead.  Unfortunately, rookie defensive back Jalen Ramsey snares a 13-yard interception, setting Jacksonville up at the Ravens 10.

A holding penalty keeps them from getting close enough to the end zone, and a Jason Myers kick finally gets them on the board with 2:17 left to go in the second quarter.

BAL- 10, JAX- 3

The Ravens are hoping to put up some points before halftime, but a Keenan Reynolds kick return fumble throws a wrench into that plan.  Set up nicely at the Ravens 16-yard line, Blake Bortles hits wide receiver Allen Robinson for a quick touchdown to tie up the game.

BAL- 10, JAX- 10

Thankfully for the Ravens, they are able to put some points on the board before the break, as Kamar Aiken grabs a 29-yard receptions, followed by a 26-yard catch. They then stall in Jacksonville territory, bringing out Justin Tucker to kick them to a small lead with a minute to go in the half.

BAL- 13, JAX- 10

The Ravens come out firing in the second half, taking advantage of a fifteen-yard penalty, and hitting Steve Smith Sr. for a 29 yard gain.  A few short rushes by Justin Forsett get them down to the two-yard line, where Flacco would dive into the end zone for the short rushing touchdown.

BAL- 20, JAX- 10

Jacksonville continues their offensive struggles, punting to the Ravens after accumulating just one first down.  A heavy dosage of the Baltimore run game punishes the Jaguars, but comes up short near the 18 yard line. Justin Tucker provides insurance to the Ravens lead.

BAL- 23, JAX- 10

For a while, the game turned into a battle of attrition, with both teams trading stalled drives.  Finally, that was broken up by a long Jacksonville drive. Trailing late, Blake Bortles channeled the Skip Bayless clutch gene and led the Jags down the field to the Ravens eight-yard line, where wide receiver Marquise Lee hauls in a touchdown, narrowing the Jaguars deficit.

BAL- 23, JAX- 17

After a quick three-and-out, the Ravens punt it away to the Jaguars who now have a chance to go ahead if they can get in the end zone.  What happens next?  Dean Pees happens next.

Blake Bortles is money on the next drive, hitting Allen Hurns and Lee for long gains on the outside.  With 3:07 left in the game, the Jaguars would take a one point lead through a ten yard run by Chris Ivory.

BAL- 23, JAX- 24

With a good amount of time left in the game, and only needing a field goal, the Ravens have no need to rush their next possession.  Unfortunately, they do just that, and as a result, Flacco is again picked off by Ramsey, who takes it down to the Ravens 14 yard line.

This one looks all but over, but instead of milking the clock, the Jags go for what they hope to be the kill shot.  On 2nd down, Bortles hits Hurns for a seven-yard touchdown.  After the extra point, the Jaguars have an eight-point lead with 2:16 left to go in the game.

BAL-23, JAX- 31

It could be worse for the Ravens who still have a chance to tie it up, and have all three timeouts in their pockets.  All they need now is one #elite drive out of number five, and that's exactly what they get.

In their own territory on fourth down, Flacco hits Aiken for a 27 yard gain to jumpstart a comeback.  A 30-yard completion to Steve Smith Sr., followed by an 11-yard toss to Mike Wallace nearly gets them all the way home.

On 2nd and 1 at the Jacksonville goal line, Flacco gets them thereby again taking it in himself for a 1-yard touchdown run with less than a minute left.  The Ravens still need a two-point conversion to tie things up, and guess who they target?  Steve Smith Sr., who comes through in the clutch.

BAL- 31, JAX- 31

The Jags still have time for a quick answer; with 0:53 left on the game clock, and three timeouts, anything can happen.  But almost surprisingly, nothing happens, and we head to overtime.

The Ravens get the ball on a touchback and begin the drive like they want to win the game.  A 17-yard completion to Crockett Gillmore is followed up by a 23-yard completion to Aiken on 3rd and 14.  They weren't done tossing it, as Mike Wallace caught an 18 yarder, and Smith Sr. caught one for another six.  Unfortunately, handing it off to Forsett stalled them out, but a 35-yard field goal by Justin Tucker put them ahead late.

BAL- 34, JAX- 31

This game just won't end.  After a decent return by Nick Marshall, Bortles hits Hurns and Robinson for some long completions, setting the Jags put to kick a tying field goal.

BAL- 34, JAX- 34

With 4:41 left to go in this game, a tie looks like a real possibility, and another Ravens stalled drive increases the odds of that happening.

After a touchback punt, Bortles heads out onto the field, looking to put a merciful end to this game.  Does he? Absolutely not.  A promising 18-yard completion to Allen Hurns is followed up by a few disappointing runs, leading them to punt it right back to the Ravens.

Baltimore respons with a few disappointing runs of their own, and give it back to Jacksonville with 2:30 to go in the game.

Both teams trade stalled out drives again, and it looked like a tie is actually going to take place.  But the Jaguars got a nice punt return out of Denard Robinson, and a few quick passes later, they were in Jason Myers' field goal range with 0:04 left in the game.

His 47-yard attempt... was good, and the Ravens lose the game, 37-34 in overtime.

Notable Ravens stats:

Joe Flacco completed 65% of his passes and had one touchdown and two picks on 420 yards passing.  He also had two rushing touchdowns for 49 yards.

Justin Forsett led the way on the ground with 100 yards on 29 attempts.

Several receivers had nice games, with Steve Smith Sr. leading the pack.  He had 7 catches for 126 yards, while Kamar Aiken had 115 yards on five receptions.  Mike Wallace and Ben Watson each went over 50 yards as well.

Defensively, CJ Mosley led the team with 10 tackles, while Terrell Suggs racked up three sacks and Jimmy Smith broke up two passes.