Ravens vs. Falcons final recap: Lamar Jackson leads the Ravens to their third-straight victory

In exciting fashion, the Ravens went on the road and throttled the down-and-out Atlanta Falcons for their third-straight win with Lamar Jackson.

1st Half

The Ravens deferred after winning the toss and Justin Tucker booted the ball out of the endzone on kickoff. After a few solid runs and a tight third-down completion to Julio Jones against Jimmy Smith, the drive moved along. A missed opportunity as Matt Ryan overthrew Tevin Coleman on first down put the Falcons offense behind the eight-ball as the Ravens defense flexed their muscles and held strong on second and third down. In the end, the first drive ended with a field goal for Atlanta.

Falcons up: 3-0

The ensuing drive featured two runs by Gus Edwards Jr. for a first down and completion to Mark Andrews. Later on, Jackson escaped the pocket to find Michael Crabtree open in the middle of the field. A play later, a play-action pass including Robert Griffin III in motion kept the Falcons guessing and left Andrews wide open on the back-side for a gain of 18, pushing Baltimore into the redzone. The offense completely stalled after a forced fumble by Grady Jarrett and two bad passing plays, but a defender yanked on Willie Snead IV’s facemask, giving the Ravens a fresh set of downs at the 13-yard line. One play later, Lamar and Ty Montgomery sprinted behind Nick Boyle off the right side on an option play. Jackson kept the football all 13-yards as he was tackled into the endzone for a touchdown.

Ravens up: 7-3

The Ravens defense follows up the Jackson touchdown with a 3-and-out as Terrell Suggs sacks Ryan on 3rd & 5. The defense most certainly plays well early in games with a lead.

After the Ravens also went 3-and-out, the Falcons began found themselves in the midst of a drive. Jimmy Smith was forced to leave the field and undergo concussion protocol, leaving Marlon Humphrey to defend Julio. In the Bama vs. Bama battle, the first deep ball went to Marlon as he swatted the ball away, leaving the Falcons with a 3rd & 9. Ridley caught the pass but fell one-yard shy of the first down. On 4th & 1, Michael Pierce and C.J. Mosley punished the decision to go for it with a tackle in the backfield and a turnover on downs.

A dead drive by the Ravens after a bad pass by Lamar to a wide open John Brown and a drop by Crabtree brought Sam Koch onto the field. Rather than punt the ball away, Sam completed a pass to Chris Moore for 21-yards. Unfortunately, one big play was responded with another as Vic Beasley scooped up a forced fumble on Lamar by Grady Jarrett for a 74-yard touchdown.

Falcons up: 10-7

Marlon Humphrey breaking up passes after bad penalties and the Ravens receivers dropping passes left the back-half of the game ugly and lacking.

Coming out of the two-minute warning, Za’Darius Smith rocked Ryan with a 10-yard sack. A penalty on the offense gave the Ravens a time stoppage. A big pass interference penalty on Robert Alford on Crabtree moved the Ravens offense past the 50. Then, a great catch by Crabtree in a tight window thrown by Jackson. A few plays later, Justin Tucker walked onto the field and completed a 41-yard field goal to tie the game.

Tie game: 10-10

2nd Half

The first drive for Lamar Jackson ended with a field goal. It took 11-plays for Tucker to get back onto the field for a 21-yard field goal. The red zone offense looked bad and the playcalling near the goal line is looking rather one-dimensional due to Jackson’s skill at running, but lacking in the passing department.

Ravens lead: 13-10

A quick 3-and-out by the Falcons brought back the Ravens offense, but Lamar did not join the field. Instead, Robert Griffin III joined the game as Jackson underwent concussion protocol. After 16 plays and on the back of Edwards Jr. and Kenneth Dixon, the Ravens let loose Justin Tucker for yet another field goal. This time, from 45-yards out.

Ravens lead: 16-10

On third down for the Falcons, Matt Ryan back-pedaled and found Ridley for six yards. Gabriel then attempted to dodge a few tacklers by cutting back and found himself losing more yardage than gained. The Falcons suffered another 3-and-out.

Lamar returned to the football field and instantly started moving. First, with a rush by Montgomery and then a 16-yard gain by Jackson on 3rd & 3. A few plays later, Lamar connected with Ty on 3rd & 7 for a first down. The trio of Montgomery, Jackson and Edwards Jr. continued to battle on as they gained another first down. Unfortunately, three runs later the drive stalled out and Tucker had to arrive on the scene.

Ravens up 19-10

On first down following the touchback, the Ravens blitzed Ryan and it paid off ten-fold. Patrick Onwuasor stripped the quarterback and the football was recovered by Tavon Young for a 14-yard touchdown!

Ravens up 26-10

The Falcons drive ended in a touchdown, but not until there were four penalties on the Ravens and a ball being tipped four times before landing into Ridley’s arms. The Ravens just couldn’t cash in on the playmaking and it ends with six points as Ryan connected with Austin Hooper for a one-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, leaving this a two-score game.

Ravens up 26-16

Unsurprisingly, the squad continued to run around the field and gain first downs to chew the clock. They hit the two-minute warning with a 4th & 1 coming up. After a challenge to get closer, they fail, but the QB sneak is successful and the Baltimore Ravens win!

Final score: 26-16

Social Media

As always, I do ask for you to please follow and ‘like’ us on various social media outlets.

• Twitter: @BMoreBeatdown
• Facebook: Baltimore Beatdown: For Baltimore Ravens fans
• Instagram: baltimore_beatdown