The Baltimore Ravens took a slight step back from last week as they suffered their first-season loss to the Indianapolis Colts 22-19 overtime.
The game started the Raven’s way as Lamar Jackson scored the first touchdown running into the endzone. Jackson threw 22 passes for 202 yards but didn’t score any receiving touchdowns. He did score two rushing touchdowns on the day.
Colts vs. Ravens Postgame Analysis
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (8) – Nick Wass/AP Photo
The Raven’s ground game played well as the team signed and welcomed back Kenyon Drake and Melvin Gordon III to the starting lineup and released backup quarterback Josh Johnson.
Gordon III rushed for 32 yards on ten carries, Gus Edwards rushed for 51 yards on 11 carries, and Drake, however, caught two receptions for 31 yards.
Odell Beckham Jr. was out this week as he continues to recover from an ankle injury he suffered in last week’s 27-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Rashod Bateman did deal with a tightened hamstring during the game as he caught one reception for six yards, Nelson Agholor caught four receptions for 39 yards, and Zay Flowers caught eight receptions for 48 yards on the offensive effort.
The Indianapolis Colts were also without some of their main starters, such as rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson. Starting for Richardson was backup Quarterback Gardner Minshew.
Minshew completed 27 passes for 227 yards and threw a touchdown in the victory for the Colts. However, Minshew did accidentally step out of bounds from his endzone in the third quarter of the game, giving the Ravens a Safety or, as Ryan Young of Yahoo Sports said, “A Dan Orlovsky.” coined after former quarterback Dan Orlovsky stepped out of his endzone back in a 2008 game between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
Despite that, Minshew looked good for the Colts, moving them forward.
Another two good performances for the Colts were Michael Pittman Jr., who caught nine receptions for 77 yards, while Zack Moss caught two receptions for 23 yards and scored a touchdown for Indy.
Defensively, the Ravens played fair despite the loss. Roquan Smith had 12 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a pass deflection; Patrick Queen had 12 tackles and two stuffs; Jadeveon Clowney had three tackles and 0.5 sacks, and Kyle Hamilton had nine tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection.
Ravens DB Kyle Hamilton (14) sacking Gardner Minshew – Rob Carr/Getty Images
Justin Tucker almost won the game for the Ravens at the very tail end of the fourth quarter, but his kick wasn’t far enough to cross the goal line which resulted in overtime.
Ravens K Justin Tucker (9) – Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
The Ravens offense did everything they could to get Justin Tucker set for a field goal kick in overtime but ended up short on two possessions. The Colts managed to take advantage of overtime with their own field goal from veteran kicker Matt Gay that sealed the deal for Indy in the very end.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (8) Colts LB Zaire Franklin (44) – Julio Cortez/AP Photo
The Ravens still have a good amount of work to do offensively to keep afloat in the ever-so-competitive AFC North to keep up with the likes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals, who are all looking to obtain the AFC North crown. However, injuries do affect teams, and the Ravens are no stranger to their share of injuries.
Once some of the athletes on the Ravens recover and are ready to go, the team can be expected to perform a little better than they did this week. It is a special sort of pain when Baltimore loses to the Colts- especially in such a close matchup.
The Baltimore Ravens head west on the road to Ohio for a divisional showdown with the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 1 at 1:00 p.m. E.T. on CBS.
