The Baltimore Ravens ran riot as they rallied to a 27-22 win to hand Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a third straight NFL defeat on Friday (AEDT).
Trailing 10-3 at halftime, Baltimore dominated the second half. Quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for 43 yards on nine carries and completed 27 of 38 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns as seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady found himself unable to keep the Buccaneers offense firing.
Tampa Bay scored a first-quarter touchdown for the first time this season. But Brady couldn’t build on that and has now dropped three games in a row for the first time since 2002. He is two games under .500 for the first time in his career.
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Two promising fourth-quarter drives ended with Tampa Bay field goals. A late eight-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Julio Jones gave Tampa Bay a longshot chance in the final minute.
But Rachaad White was stopped on the two-point conversion attempt and Baltimore scooped up the ensuing onside kick to seal the win.
Brady completed 26 of 44 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown — his first TD pass since a loss to Pittsburgh in week six, which was followed by last week’s defeat to the Carolina Panthers.
It was the fifth defeat in six games for Brady and the Bucs after a 2-0 start to the season.
The 45-year-old quarterback, who changed his mind after a brief retirement last spring, looked set to bounce back from the upset loss to the Panthers with a touchdown on Tampa Bay’s first possession.
But they couldn’t keep the offense flowing in the second half and Jackson and the Ravens offense, which piled up 233 rushing yards, wore down the Bucs defense.
Jackson connected with Kenyan Drake and Isaiah Likely on third-quarter touchdowns, and Baltimore was in firm control after a 15-yard touchdown run by Devin Duvernay with 6:55 to play.
“I don’t think anyone feels good,” Brady said. “Not where we want to be, but you know, we haven’t earned it.
“You’ve got to go earn it. You’ve got to go fight hard and you’ve got to go figure out how to win games.”
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