The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 37-31 overtime win over the visiting Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s Week 14 game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Brian Wacker: This one was as ugly as the weather at times. The Ravens were fresh off a bye week yet often looked discombobulated, from self-inflicted mistakes to poor execution, on a soggy Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. It would be one thing if it were September, but there are only four games remaining in the regular season and Baltimore (10-3) has a chance to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
The Ravens can get away with these sorts of errors against the Rams (6-7), but the postseason is a different animal when it comes to mistakes, as Baltimore discovered in painful fashion last season.
If there were positives to take away, you had to sometimes squint through the rain drops to see them, but they were there in a game that earlier this season the Ravens might have lost.
The Rams (6-7) fell to the Ravens 37-31 in overtime on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, with Baltimore wide receiver Tylan Wallace’s walk-off, 76-yard punt return for a touchdown the difference in the extra period.
Trailing 23-22 midway through the fourth quarter, quarterback Matthew Stafford fired a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson to give Los Angeles a 28-23 lead with 4:41 remaining after the ensuing 2-point attempt was unsuccessful.
The Ravens (10-3) responded with a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson to wide receiver Zay Flowers, who also caught the ensuing 2-point attempt to give the Ravens a 31-28 lead with 1:16 remaining.
Highlighted by a 19-yard completion to Robinson and 34-yard completion to wide receiver Cooper Kupp, Stafford on the ensuing drive marched the Rams to the Ravens 18-yard line with 22 seconds left. Helped by Robinson breaking up a near-pick by Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey in the endzone, the Rams were able to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Lucas Havrisik with 7 seconds left to force overtime.
Both teams traded 3-and-outs at the onset of overtime; the Rams’ punt after theirs being what Wallace took the distance. Wallace was returning the punt because Baltimore’s regular punt punt returner, wide receiver Devin Duvernay, had been ruled out with a back injury.
Stafford finished 23 of 41 passing for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns in the loss, which ended a 3-game win streak for L.A. Kupp had 8 catches for 115 yards and 1 touchdown.
Here is the complete recap:
After punting on their first two possessions, the Ravens got on the board via a 54-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to a wide-open tight end Isaiah Likely down the left sideline for a 7-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Thanks to an impressive sideline catch by Demarcus Robinson – plus an extra 15 yards via an unnecessary roughness penalty against Baltimore – Los Angeles was able to answer with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Kupp to regain the lead 10-7 early in the second quarter.
However, the Ravens had a response of their own with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to regain the lead 14-10 with 9:40 left in the second quarter
On the ensuing series, defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon‘s interception and 17-yard return put the Rams at midfield with a chance to build their lead. Los Angeles turned the takeaway into a 51-yard field goal by Havrisik to extend their lead to 20-14 with 1:45 left in the first half.
The Ravens added a 31-yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker to cut the Rams’ lead to three at halftime.
A 47-yard Tucker field goal tied the game 20-20 with 10:02 left in the third quarter.
Jackson kicked the ball out of the endzone after an aborted snap – and with Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald giving chase – gave the Rams the lead again 22-20 with 5:54 left in the third quarter. However, the Rams were forced to punt after back-to-back negative plays from the Ravens 29-yard line.
Tucker’s 33-yard field goal with 11:25 left in the fourth quarter regained the lead for the Ravens 23-22. On the ensuing series, wide receiver Puka Nacua dropped what would’ve been a big gain for a first down over the middle and the Rams were forced to punt two plays later.
Nacua made up for it later, though, with an incredible 23-yard diving catch that set up the go-ahead, late-fourth-quarter touchdown from Stafford to Robinson to give the Rams a 28-23 lead
Jackson’s 21-yard passing touchdown gave the Ravens the lead back 31-28, but Havrisik’s 33-yard field goal attempt with 7 seconds left allowed the Rams to force overtime.
The Rams were forced to punt on their lone possession of overtime, and it was that punt Wallace took back for a touchdown to snap the Rams’ 3-game losing streak.
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