Bucs Outpaced by Ravens 41-31 While Losing Several Key Players to Injury

It appears as though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have work to do before they can be considered contenders.

Collin Haalboom | Oct 21, 2024

Oct 21, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) reacts after a play against the Baltimore Ravens in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On Monday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were hosting what is arguably the hottest team in the NFL in the Baltimore Ravens. Despite losing their first two games of the season, the Ravens had reeled off four consecutive wins coming into this primetime matchup, and they’d done it in dominating fashion. The addition of Derrick Henry, combined with a rock solid run defense, has allowed Baltimore to achieve the highest rushing yards differential by any team since 2000 (+146 yards per game). On the other side of the coin, the Ravens have struggled when it comes to defending the pass. Meanwhile Baker Mayfield, Liam Coen, and the rest of the Bucs’ offense have been lighting up the scoreboard in recent weeks with their potent aerial attack.

The Bucs have struggled both in primetime and when playing the Ravens in recent seasons, and they were certainly hoping that 2024 would provide a different result on Monday Night Football.

Let’s revisit how it all played out under the lights at Raymond James Stadium.

The Buccaneers had the ball first and Baker Mayfield and Liam Coen wasted no time before finding their groove. An 18-yard catch and run by Rachaad White and a fourth down conversion on a jet sweep to Jalen McMillan helped the Bucs advance the ball into Baltimore territory. Then, Baker Mayfield found a gap in the Ravens defense where he placed the ball to Mike Evans in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown.

It was Mike Evans' 100th career touchdown reception.

Buccaneers 7 Baltimore 0

It was a great start for the Bucs’ offense, and their fourth consecutive game scoring points on their opening drive.

The Ravens' ensuing possession came to a relatively quick conclusion after the Bucs’ defense had three consecutive huge plays. First, Calijah Kancey had a TFL, then a sack by YaYa Diaby which resulted in a loss of 8 yards, followed by another sack on the very next play by Antoine Winfield Jr.

It was a great response by Todd Bowles’ defense, and the crowd at Raymond James Stadium was going wild after three consecutive big plays.

The Bucs’ second possession looked promising, especially when Baker Mayfield hit Chris Godwin for a touchdown. But the play was quickly negated due to a very questionable holding call on Tristan Wirfs, which he — along with every Bucs fan in attendance — took great exception to. It was Wirfs first holding call since the end of the 2022 season, and right or wrong, it was a costly one. The Bucs opted to settle for a chip shot field goal to extend their lead.

Buccaneers 10 Ravens 0

The Ravens offense is simply too talented to roll over, though. And in the opening drive of the second quarter, the Ravens were able to move the ball relatively easily. Zay Flowers took a jet sweep 20-yards before a Lamar Jackson scramble put the Ravens deep in the Bucs’ red zone. Shortly thereafter, Lamar hit a wide-open Mark Andrews in the endzone for a 9-yard TD reception.

Buccaneers 10 Ravens 7

The following Bucs’ possession did not end as swimmingly as the previous two. After marching the ball down the field with successful runs up the middle by all three running backs, Baker Mayfield hit Mike Evans for a would-be TD strike. But after it appeared as though he made the catch, Evans dropped the ball and he fell to the turf at the back of the end zone, in obvious pain while holding his hamstring.

Prior to that reception, it was clear Evans was laboring on the sidelines. And in hindsight, it’s fair to question whether or not Evans should have been playing.

That would be the last we would see of Mike Evans in this football game, as he was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. Just a few plays later, Baker tried to force a ball to Jalen McMillan, but apparently couldn’t see Marlon Humphrey in close proximity to the rookie receiver, who proceeded to intercept the ball with ease.

The Ravens are simply too good of a football team to not take advantage of those types of unforced errors, and they proved it on their following possession, which saw Lamar Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for a 59-yard touchdown reception.

Ravens 14 Buccaneers 10

The Bucs had a chance to respond, though. And after a strong run by Sean Tucker picked up 15-yards, Baker Mayfield again tried to force a ball into a tight window, and again was picked off by Marlon Humphrey.

Mayfield was 11/13 for 133 yards to start the game, and 0/3 with two interceptions in his last three pass attempts at that point.

Humphrey was forced to leave the game with a knee injury on the play, and did not return.

The final possession prior to halftime for the Ravens resulted in a Justin Tucker 28-yard field goal. Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, Tykee Smith sustained a concussion on the drive, and would not return to the game.

Halftime: Ravens 17 Buccaneers 10

The second half started how the second quarter ended.

The Ravens' first possession of the third quarter resulted in them putting more points on the board with Justin Tucker hitting another field goal to extend the lead.

Ravens 20 Buccaneers 10

The Bucs responded with a decent drive, but Todd Bowles — notoriously conservative in his offensive decisions — was too scared to go for it on 4th-and-4, and instead opted to send out Chase McLaughlin to attempt a 55-yard field goal, which doinked off the right upright, providing the Ravens with great field position and no points to show for it.

The Ravens seemed to unlock a cheat code on offense from there on out.

Lamar Jackson launched another deep shot to Rashod Bateman,m who had no problem cruising past Zyon McCollum for a 49-yard TD reception — his second of the game — to once again increase the deficit for Tampa Bay.

Ravens 27 Buccaneers 10

The Bucs' offense punted on the following series, before Derrick Henry announced his presence in emphatic fashion.

Henry took a handoff 81 yards up the sideline to the 11-yard line before being tackled out of bounds by Zyon McCollum. Just a couple of plays later, Lamar Jackson hit his trusty tight end, Mark Andrews, for his second touchdown reception of the game.

Ravens 34 Buccaneers 10

After another Bucs' punt, finally, something good happened, when Zyon McCollum recovered a fumble by Lamar Jackson, which he somehow managed to rumble 30 yards into the end zone despite having defenders draped all over him. Unfortunately, a review showed that McCollum was touched with his knee on the ground, negating the score.

The Bucs were able to capitalize on the positive field position when Baker Mayfield hit Rachaad White for an 11-yard touchdown. The Bucs were successful in their two point conversion attempt, when Mayfield hit Sterling Shepard in the end zone.

Ravens 34 Buccaneers 18

On the ensuing possession for the Ravens, Derrick Henry had another big run before he eventually caught a touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to bring the game out of reach.

Ravens 41 Buccaneers 18

Although the Buccaneers did manage to score two more touchdowns as the game was winding down, highlighted by a rushing touchdown by Bucky Irving, a successful onside kick, and another Rachaad White TD... things quickly went from bad to worse for Tampa Bay.

Ravens 41 Buccaneers 31

With less than a minute left in the game, Chris Godwin was tackled by Roquan Smith after making a catch over the middle, and laid face down without moving. The injury was apparently to his lower leg, and was too gruesome for ESPN to show a replay.

FINAL: Ravens 41 Buccaneers 31

On a night that saw the Baltimore Ravens assert their dominance over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it's hard to focus on anything other than the status of Chris Godwin. The star veteran receiver was having a career year, leading the NFL in yards after catch, while not only helping the Bucs find success, but also re-establishing his value in a contract year.

Considering the fact that Godwin spent nearly two years working his way back from a gruesome knee injury prior to this season, there's no way to describe his injury as anything other than heartbreaking.

Mike Evans and Tykee Smith were also ruled out of this football game due to injury. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will apparently be shorthanded when they host the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday in Tampa.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2024 season.

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Published Oct 21, 2024

COLLIN HAALBOOM

Prior to joining BucsGameday and Sports Illustrated, Collin's written content was provided through Bucs Banter, and NFL Draft Lounge. He is also the creator and host of the Bucs Banter Podcast. He is a graduate of the Communication Studies program at McMaster University, where he was also a varsity basketball player, and later an advanced scout. He lives with his wife and two children in Hamilton, ON. You can follow Collin on YouTube and Twitter.