BALTIMORE- The Lions and Ravens on Monday Night Football lived up to expectations, a back-and-forth game between two of the top offenses in the NFL.
Each team traded touchdowns, then three-and-outs, in the first quarter. Detroit’s defense then made a goal-line stand, but punted, and allowed the Ravens to tie the game at 14 before half.
Touchdowns were exchanged again to begin the second half, but Detroit took the lead 28-21 after forcing a Ravens punt on Baltimore’s second possession out of half. The Ravens added a field goal and a defensive stop to begin the fourth quarter, but Aiden Hutchinson made a massive play and forced a fumble to give the ball back to his offense in the red zone. The Lions kicked a field goal to go back up 7.
Then the defense stifled Lamar Jackson and the Ravens again. Detroit got the ball back with 4 and a half minutes on the clock and a seven-point lead and marched 70 yards in seven plays, capped off by a 31-yard David Montgomery touchdown run that put the nail in the coffin.
Jared Goff finished 20-28 passing for 202 yards, 77 of those going to his top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Montgomery finished the contest with twelve carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant performance; his counterpart, Gibbs, added two touchdowns of his own with 67 yards. First-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s defense racked up seven sacks on the day, along with the forced fumble and keeping Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry to under 100 rushing yards combined.
Detroit picks up a statement win and moves to 2-1 on the season with a short week to prepare for the Browns on Sunday.
