Baltimore Ravens Dismantle Detroit Lions 38-6

The Baltimore Ravens made a Sunday statement with a 38-6 demolition of the Detroit Lions at home.

On an afternoon when Terrell Suggs was immortalized in Baltimore Ravens history, his successors on the field paid the ultimate tribute to him: in what some observers saw as a darkhorse Super Bowl preview, Baltimore tamed the NFC-leading Detroit Lions to the tune of a 38-6 Sunday shellacking at M&T Bank Stadium. 

The Ravens' offense did what it could to match the No. 55 that appeared on Suggs' purple jersey for 16 seasons by scoring touchdowns on each of its first four possessions while the defense kept the Lions off the board for as long as it mattered.

In a potential MVP showcase, Jackson was more than happy to share the offensive wealth, issuing 357 passing yards (pairing that with 36 on nine ground attempts) to nine different receivers. He allowed Mark Andrews (63 yards on four receptions) to celebrate National Tight Ends Day in style by bestowing him two scores. 

Lamar Jackson (8) celebrates one of his first half touchdowns with Nelson Agholor (15) / USA TODAY SPORTS

The early onslaught was an encouraging sign for the Ravens (5-2) after they struggled to score six in London, making last weekend's game against Tennessee far too close for comfort. This time around, Baltimore neuralized the surging Lions with touchdowns on each of their first five red zone visits: Andrews' tallies came from 11 and eight yards away while Jackson opened scoring with a seven-yard six-pointer of his own. Gus Edwards also had a score on the ground while Jackson found Nelson Agholor from a dozen away. 

Suggs' defensive descendants opened the game by forcing Detroit into three consecutive three-and-outs, allowing the offensive to build the impenetrable lead in peace. Odafe Oweh earned a sack of Jared Goff in his first game back from a Week 2 ankle injury, appearing on the quarterback takedown ledger alongside Justin Madubuike, Arthur Maulet, and Kyle Van Noy, who had two as the Ravens' all-time leader in sacks was honored. Geno Stone earned his NFL-best fourth interception on one of Detroit's desperate attempts to change the tide on fourth down.

Detroit (5-2) entered Sunday's game as the co-leaders in the NFC and fell to 1-6 all-time against the Ravens. The Lions finally broke through on the scoreboard at the onset of the final period, when Jahmyr Gibbs made it to the end zone on a 21-yard rush before Baltimore stuffed the two-point conversion try and re-expanded its lead with one last Justin Tucker field goal.

Another interconference matchup awaits the Ravens next Sunday when they face the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).