It’s been 22 years since the Buccaneers beat the Baltimore Ravens and they have a chance to insert themselves into the conversation of legitimate Super Bowl contenders if they are able to get a win on Monday night.
Easier said than done, though.
The Ravens come in with the number one rushing attack in the NFL as well as the number one defense. They love to control the pace, control the clock, and jump out to an early lead. Unfortunately for them, they have a propensity to give up leads late in games because they have the NFL’s 31st ranked pass defense. Joe Burrow threw for almost 400 yards to go along with five touchdowns just two weeks ago. Now they have to go up against the NFL’s 11th ranked passing offense in terms of yards - but no team has more passing touchdowns.
Baker Mayfield is on an MVP pace over the first six weeks of the season while his top two receivers - Chris Godwin and Mike Evans - are tied for the NFL’s lead in touchdown receptions. Godwin also leads the league in receptions, yards after catch, catch percentage, and receptions for a first down.
The Ravens are sitting a few spots behind the Bucs in points per game allowed with 24.8 vs the Bucs’ 23.5 while the Ravens’ offense is averaging the fourth most points scored per game at 29.5 vs the Bucs’ second most points per game scored at 29.7.
Being unleashed in this one is Tampa Bay’s new-look run game where they are going to deploy all three running backs to see which one establishes himself as the hot hand. Rachaad White will be back from injury this week and will get the first crack, but he has struggled to run the ball this season. Bucky Irving started earning more opportunities with the way he was running the ball - but then Sean Tucker went nuts with 136 yards against the Saints last week - 107 coming in the fourth quarter.
Getting any of them going is going to be a tall task. The Ravens are allowing just 59 yards per game on the ground. That would seem to favor White for the Bucs, given his ability to not only make plays in the passing game but also being the best of the three backs when it comes to picking up blitzes.
While the Bucs are dealing with some injuries to players like Jamel Dean and Payne Durham, they will have their full starting offensive line back together for the first time since week one as well as the likely return of Trey Palmer. Palmer hasn’t officially cleared concussion protocol yet, but was a full participant in practice the last two days and seems to be trending in the right direction.
As for the Ravens, they aren’t dealing with any significant injuries. Instead, they’re feasting off the addition of Derrick Henry who leads the NFL in rushing yards with 704 through six games. He also leads the league in rushing touchdowns with eight as well as rushes of 20-yards or more, of which he also has eight.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers is coming into his own, sitting just outside the top ten in receiving yards but is coming off back-to-back 100+ yard performances against the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders. He will likely be matched up against Zyon McCollum most of the night which will be an intense battle to watch.
The other thing the Ravens have going for them is their tight end duo of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. Likely had a great night against the Bucs the last time Baltimore came to Raymond James Stadium and the Bucs are 16th in the NFL against the tight end position. While Andrews and Likely haven’t been used very often, this is a game where they could really take advantage of some mismatches against the Bucs’ defense.
The Bucs come into this one 3.5-point underdogs with an over/under of 49.5. The Ravens have won eleven straight against the NFC and are sitting at 22-1 against the NFC since the arrival of Lamar Jackson. Jackson also hasn’t thrown an interception in his last seven games on Monday night.
Bucs (4-2) vs Ravens (4-2) Game Information
When: Monday, October 21st 2024
Where: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 - Joe Buck (Play-by-Play), Troy Aikman (Color Commentary), Laura Rutledge (Sideline)
ESPN 2 ManningCast - Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Bill Belichick, Guests TBA
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramatica (Sideline Reporter)
It’s been 22 years since the Buccaneers beat the Baltimore Ravens and they have a chance to insert themselves into the conversation of legitimate Super Bowl contenders if they are able to get a win on Monday night.
Easier said than done, though.
The Ravens come in with the number one rushing attack in the NFL as well as the number one defense. They love to control the pace, control the clock, and jump out to an early lead. Unfortunately for them, they have a propensity to give up leads late in games because they have the NFL’s 31st ranked pass defense. Joe Burrow threw for almost 400 yards to go along with five touchdowns just two weeks ago. Now they have to go up against the NFL’s 11th ranked passing offense in terms of yards - but no team has more passing touchdowns.
Baker Mayfield is on an MVP pace over the first six weeks of the season while his top two receivers - Chris Godwin and Mike Evans - are tied for the NFL’s lead in touchdown receptions. Godwin also leads the league in receptions, yards after catch, catch percentage, and receptions for a first down.
The Ravens are sitting a few spots behind the Bucs in points per game allowed with 24.8 vs the Bucs’ 23.5 while the Ravens’ offense is averaging the fourth most points scored per game at 29.5 vs the Bucs’ second most points per game scored at 29.7.
Being unleashed in this one is Tampa Bay’s new-look run game where they are going to deploy all three running backs to see which one establishes himself as the hot hand. Rachaad White will be back from injury this week and will get the first crack, but he has struggled to run the ball this season. Bucky Irving started earning more opportunities with the way he was running the ball - but then Sean Tucker went nuts with 136 yards against the Saints last week - 107 coming in the fourth quarter.
Getting any of them going is going to be a tall task. The Ravens are allowing just 59 yards per game on the ground. That would seem to favor White for the Bucs, given his ability to not only make plays in the passing game but also being the best of the three backs when it comes to picking up blitzes.
While the Bucs are dealing with some injuries to players like Jamel Dean and Payne Durham, they will have their full starting offensive line back together for the first time since week one as well as the likely return of Trey Palmer. Palmer hasn’t officially cleared concussion protocol yet, but was a full participant in practice the last two days and seems to be trending in the right direction.
As for the Ravens, they aren’t dealing with any significant injuries. Instead, they’re feasting off the addition of Derrick Henry who leads the NFL in rushing yards with 704 through six games. He also leads the league in rushing touchdowns with eight as well as rushes of 20-yards or more, of which he also has eight.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers is coming into his own, sitting just outside the top ten in receiving yards but is coming off back-to-back 100+ yard performances against the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders. He will likely be matched up against Zyon McCollum most of the night which will be an intense battle to watch.
The other thing the Ravens have going for them is their tight end duo of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. Likely had a great night against the Bucs the last time Baltimore came to Raymond James Stadium and the Bucs are 16th in the NFL against the tight end position. While Andrews and Likely haven’t been used very often, this is a game where they could really take advantage of some mismatches against the Bucs’ defense.
The Bucs come into this one 3.5-point underdogs with an over/under of 49.5. The Ravens have won eleven straight against the NFC and are sitting at 22-1 against the NFC since the arrival of Lamar Jackson. Jackson also hasn’t thrown an interception in his last seven games on Monday night.
Bucs (4-2) vs Ravens (4-2) Game Information
When: Monday, October 21st 2024
Where: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 - Joe Buck (Play-by-Play), Troy Aikman (Color Commentary), Laura Rutledge (Sideline)
ESPN 2 ManningCast - Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Bill Belichick, Guests TBA
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramatica (Sideline Reporter)
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