5 takeaways from Raiders-Ravens: Gardner Minshew gets hot, Ravens start 0-2 and more

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Lamar Jackson, the reigning NFL MVP, and the Baltimore Ravens, the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs last season, find themselves winless through the first two weeks of the 2024 season.

Kicker Daniel Carlson hit a go-ahead 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds left to help give the Las Vegas Raiders a 26-23 victory against the Ravens, who drop to 0-2.

The Raiders trailed 23-13 with 12:11 to play fourth quarter after Ravens running back Derrick Henry found the end zone from 3 yards out. Las Vegas scored 13 straight points thanks to a Davante Adams touchdown reception and two Carlson field goals.

The win marked the first for Las Vegas (1-1) since the franchise promoted Antonio Pierce to head coach, after leading the franchise to a 5-4 record as the interim coach last season.

Minshew gets hot

Gardner Minshew and Adams got hot late and the Raiders came from behind 10 points with 10 minutes left to stun the Ravens in their home opener. Minshew was under pressure all day, but finished 30-of-38 for 276 yards and hit Adams and rookie Brock Bowers often in the second half. Adams had nine catches for 110 yards, and the last reception was a play-action, 1-yard score with 3:54 left to tie the game at 23. The Raiders are 1-1 with an homecoming game next against the Panthers. — Vic Tafur, Raiders beat writer

Timely plays from Vegas’ defense

The Raiders defense gave up a couple touchdowns in the second half, but it still deserves a lot of credit for making timely plays in the upset win. Halfway through the third quarter, linebacker Robert Spillane picked off Jackson after his pass deflected off the hands of receiver Rashod Bateman. After taking over in Ravens territory, the Raiders scored their first touchdown of the game on a 1-yard carry by running back Alexander Mattison.

While the defense surrendered a 76-yard touchdown drive on the next possession, it recovered to force back-to-back 3-and-outs. On the first, Spillane got the Ravens off the field with a clutch pass deflection on third down. On the second, defensive end Maxx Crosby tanked the Ravens’ drive with a sack. The Raiders’ offense turned both stops into scores to take a three-point lead with just 27 seconds left.

Although the Ravens had no timeouts remaining and were short on time, the Raiders still needed another stop from their defense to seal the 10-point comeback win. On 3rd-and-10 from the Ravens’ 41-yard line with seven seconds remaining, tight end Isaiah Likely got open well within field goal range. Cornerback Jack Jones, however, hit Likely to jar the ball loose and force an incompletion. The Ravens attempted a desperation lateral play with one second left, but it failed. — Tashan Reed, Raiders beat writer

GO DEEPER

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An awful loss for Ravens

Blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead in the final 10 minutes in your regular-season opener is bad enough. That stands on its own. Doing it to start 0-2 for the first time since 2015 adds an extra element to it. The Ravens had breakdowns in all three facets. Now, they sit at 0-2 with these next three games: at Dallas, home vs. Buffalo and at Cincinnati. The Ravens are in big trouble if they don’t turn this around quickly. — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat writer

Henry got it going

It wasn’t looking good for the Ravens running game as a whole and for Henry in particular. At halftime, a struggling Ravens offense had just 19 yards rushing on 11 attempts. Henry, who was signed this offseason to head the Ravens running attack, had just seven carries for 5 yards. However, Henry found traction in the second half. Henry finished the game with 84 yards on 14 carries to go along with one reception for 12 yards. It wasn’t enough to help the Ravens win, but it bodes well for the team’s running game going forward. — Zrebiec

For second straight week, the Ravens were their own worst enemies

The Ravens, again, repeatedly made things more difficult on themselves than they needed to be. They were called for 10 penalties for 109 yards, compared to three for 15 yards for the Raiders. The biggest may have Brandon Stephens’ defensive pass interference call on Adams in the end zone. It set up Adams’ 1-yard touchdown catch that tied the game with 3:54 to play. But it wasn’t just the penalties. Jackson threw an interception with the Ravens leading by 10 points in the third quarter. There were blown tackles, missed assignments, another long Justin Tucker missed field goal and an ill-timed shank by punter Jordan Stout. The Ravens got what they deserved for a second straight week. — Zrebiec

Required reading

(Photo: Rob Carr / Getty Images)



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Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

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