TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens finally have a winning streak.
Lamar Jackson threw for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the second half, and the Ravens rallied Thursday night for a 27-22 win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, giving Baltimore back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Brady, meanwhile, finds himself on a three-game slip for the first time since 2002 — the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s first year as a full-time starter for the New England Patriots.
Jackson completed all eight of his passes after halftime and the Ravens (5-3) finished with 231 yards after only throwing the ball seven times in the first two quarters.
“I feel like we’re really close,” Jackson said when asked if he felt the Baltimore offense was getting close to hitting on all cylinders.
“We’re here, but there’s still room for improvement…the little mistakes we’re still making out there,” the Ravens quarterback added. “We are changing them and I feel like the sky is the limit.”
The Bucs (3-5) lost for the fifth time in six games after a 2-0 start.
“We just didn’t play well enough to win,” said Brady, who avoided going a second straight game without a touchdown pass by throwing an 8-yard shot at Julio Jones at the last minute.
“Until you win ball games consistently and play four quarters consistently, it will be dark,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t get away with it. We just have a lot of work to do, as coaches and as players.
Jackson beat Brady, 45, for the second time in as many career meetings, leading TD passes from 77, 80 and 85 yards after Baltimore spat early and trailed 10-3 at halftime.
The Ravens (5-3) rushed for all but 27 of their 231 yards rushing in the second half, while Jackson completed 27 of 38 passes without an interception, including 5-yard TD throws to Kenyon Drake and 10 yards to Isaiah Likely in the third quarter.
Baltimore scored on its first four possessions after halftime, with Justin Tucker netting a 30-yard field goal to make it 27-16 with just over two minutes remaining.
Brady threw his TD pass to Jones with 49 seconds left, going 26 of 44 for 325 yards without an interception. He was fired three times.
Leonard Fournette scored on a 1-yard rush and Mike Evans had six receptions for 123 yards for the Bucs.
Fournette’s TD was the first the Bucs scored in the first quarter this season. Brady explained earlier in the week how helpful it can be to play with a lead, but the offense did little to capitalize on the initial advantage after Ryan’s 31-yard field goal Succop made it 10-3.
The Ravens, meanwhile, squandered a few chances to take control early, settling for a 22-yard field goal after recovering a fumble to the Bucs 6 on a punt return and coming away without points when Jackson thrown incomplete in the end zone on 4th and -3 from the Tampa Bay 10 late in the second quarter.
Another chance to cut their 10-3 deficit was thwarted when Tucker’s 61-yard field goal attempt was deflected off the line as time expired in the half.
RUN WITH AUTHORITY
The Ravens averaged 7 yards per carry and exceeded 150 rushing yards for the seventh straight game, the longest active streak in the NFL.
THE DROUGHT CONTINUES
Tampa Bay’s defense, among the best in the league at forcing turnovers, didn’t have a takeaway for the fourth straight game.
INJURIES
Ravens DE Calais Campbell (illness) was inactive. … Ravens TE Mark Andrews (shoulder) left in the second quarter and didn’t return. … CB Marlon Humphrey (hamstring) missed time in the first half, but came back early in the third quarter. … WR Rashod Bateman (foot) was out for most of the second half. … Edwards (hamstring) went late in the fourth quarter, finishing with a team-leading 65 yards on 11 attempts.
Buccaneers: Played without three starters in the secondary – S Antoine Winfield Jr (concussion) and CBs Carlton Davis (hip) and Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad). WR Russell Gage (hamstring), G Luke Goedeke (foot), TE Cameron Brate (neck) and DL Akiem Hicks (foot) were also inactive. … LB Shaquil Barrett (ankle) limped off the field early in the third quarter and rode to the locker room on a cart.
NEXT
Ravens: Head to New Orleans to take on the Saints on Monday, November 7.
Buccaneers: Host of the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Nov. 6.
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