Ravens News 9/27: Making History and more

Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Tucker wins game against Detroit Lions on record 66-yard FG - Jamison Hensley

Tucker’s 66-yard field goal — the longest in NFL history — lifted the depleted Ravens to a dramatic 19-17 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

“Thankfully, we found an extra yard-and-a-half that I didn’t have three hours before,” said Tucker, who held the ball from the winning kick in his hand. “I’m grateful for that.”

“He’s the best kicker in history,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “When you have a kicker like that, you want to give him an opportunity like that. For him to come through like that is just historic.”

“I love Detroit,” Tucker said. “I think I’m going to buy a place here.”

“I’m looking and see how many yards it is. I’m like, ‘Dang, this is different right here. I’ve never seen him in this predicament,’” Jackson said. “I was hoping to get him closer. It was like, ‘If we get enough air, he’s going to make it.’ He came through.”

2021 NFL season, Week 3: What we learned from Sunday’s games - Adam Maya

Tucker had never missed a field goal in 15 tries in the final minute of regulation.

Sixty-six yards and a bounce off the crossbar later, Tucker had not only fulfilled the Lions’ fears, he’d made history. It was the longest field goal of all time and had a 10.4% probability of going in, per Next Gen Stats. The 2021 season is three weeks old and all three Ravens games have been decided in the final seconds. They could easily be 3-0 or 0-3. A week after Lamar Jackson’s heroics against the Chiefs, Baltimore is a winning team (2-1) again because its kicker continued to make his case as the greatest of all time.

Next Gen Stat of the game: Lamar Jackson attempted 20 (of 27) passes for 10+ air yards (74.1%, excludes four throwaways). His previous career high was 52.9% in Week 10 of the 2019 season versus the Bengals.

NFL Week 3 grades: Bills get an ‘A’ for thrashing Washington, Patriots get an ‘F’ for ugly loss to Saints - John Breech

Ravens B-

Ravens coach John Harbaugh would probably be the first to agree that the Baltimore wasn’t at the top of its game on Sunday, but that didn’t matter, because Justin Tucker was there to save the day. The Ravens kicker drilled a 66-yard field goal on the final play of the game, which won it for Baltimore while also setting an NFL record for longest kick. Tucker’s field goal masked an iffy outing by the Ravens, who saw Marquise Brown drop three passes (including two likely touchdowns). Lamar Jackson also struggled with his accuracy until he hit Sammy Watkins for a 36-yard pass on fourth-and-19 to set up Tucker’s game-winning kick.

Five Thoughts on Ravens’ Win in Detroit - John Eisenberg

The Ravens’ offense was quite different from the week before. The running backs rushed for just 58 yards on 15 carries, while Jackson attempted 31 passes. But it was understandable. The Lions’ defense went all out to keep from being blown away by the Ravens’ power running game, and they did a pretty good job, but the effort left them vulnerable on the back end and the Ravens were right to try to exploit that.

The Ravens’ defensive line rotation consisted of Calais Campbell, Justin Ellis, Broderick Washington and rookie Khalil McKenzie, who was called up from the practice squad. That’s not how the organization drew it up, but Derek Wolfe is injured and Brandon Williams and Justin Madubuike sat out the game after landing on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Historically, the Ravens have struggled to stop the run when Williams is out. They held the Lions to 93 yards on the ground

The Ravens were determined not to let tight end T.J. Hockenson beat them, and indeed, he was limited to two catches for 10 yards. But Detroit quarterback Jared Goff completed 20 passes for 207 yards to nine other targets

Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 19-17 win over Lions - Mike Preston

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson played one of his best games as a Raven, even if the numbers (287 passing yards, 58 rushing yards, one touchdown, one interception) don’t show it. He moved well in the pocket and made some nice touch passes, including the last one to receiver Sammy Watkins for 36 yards on fourth-and-19 that set up Justin Tucker’s historic, game-winning 66-yard field. A lot of his deep passes were nearly perfect, even though a couple were dropped. Jackson sometimes held on to the ball too long, but that was because he was trying to make things happen. Again, Jackson was the difference-maker. Grade: A

Receivers

Tight end Mark Andrews owned the middle of the field. He got free working on crossing patterns or sometimes just streaking straight up the field. He was Jackson’s top weapon, catching five passes for 109 yards. Watkins also had several clutch receptions and finished with four catches for 68 yards. But the talk of this receiving corps will be the dropped passes by Marquise Brown, at least two of which should have been touchdowns. Grade: C+

Linebackers

The Ravens need some help with this group. Inside linebackers Malik Harrison and Patrick Queen aren’t physical, and the Ravens aren’t getting outstanding play from outside linebackers Tyus Bowser and Pernell McPhee, either. The Ravens have no clue in pass defense, and the tackling from this group is atrocious. Grade: D

NFL Week 3 Game Recap: Baltimore Ravens 19, Detroit Lions 17 - Austin Gayle

Offensive Line

Ben Cleveland and Ben Power split reps at left guard throughout the contest, and it was Powers who fared the best. He earned 82.0-plus PFF grades as a run-blocker and in pass protection. He should finish reviews as the Ravens’ highest-graded lineman. Veteran tackle Alejandro Villanueva was the least impressive Ravens offensive lineman. He earned a sub-60.0 PFF grade and allowed nine (!!) pressures on first review.

Secondary

Ravens safety Chuck Clark was outstanding. He earned an 86.6 PFF grade on first review of the broadcast film and totaled 12 combined tackles, zero missed tackless and a sack. Marlon Humphrey and Tavon Young also turned in strong performances, but Clark was by far the Ravens’ top performer in the secondary.