The Baltimore Ravens looked to improve to 5-1 as they took on the Philadelphia Eagles today, Oct. 18. They were successful, ending the game 30-28.
Baltimore came out on the attack early as they forced a punt and scored on their first offensive possession with a 7-yard pass to tight end Nick Boyle for the first score of the game. A series of punts followed in the first quarter until the defense made another turnover. Late in the first, the defense forced a fumble on quarterback Carson Wentz off a shotgun play and eventually came up with the football as Baltimore fumbled after the initial recovery. This allowed Lamar Jackson and the offense to get another touchdown before the clock expired. Running back Gus Edwards scored on a 7-yard run to make it 14-0 at the end of the first.
The second quarter seemed to be less exciting on the offensive side with a defensive shutdown from the Ravens defense and a failure on the offense to capitalize. Justin Tucker managed to get Baltimore a 17-0 lead early in the second with a 46-yard field goal despite the inability to find the end zone. The Eagles, desperate to score, turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth down attempt with one minute left, giving Baltimore another chance to score. However, the Ravens could not move the ball and forced themselves to punt the ball on a fourth and 1 with just enough time for the Eagles to attempt a last minute drive. Philadelphia managed to move the ball just enough to try a 52-yard field goal but missed to end the half with a 17-0 Baltimore lead.
The Eagles went into the second half looking to respond from a terrible first, and they came alive as the game went on. Philadelphia and Baltimore traded touchdowns early in the third as both offenses settled in. The Eagles looked to mount a comeback going into the fourth.
Baltimore could not find an answer for the Eagles offense in the fourth as Philadelphia scored early and shrunk the lead to 24-14. Baltimore managed a field goal to try to pull away from Philadelphia. The Ravens defense came up huge with a turnover on downs and gave the offense an opportunity for a field goal to pull away again with a 30-14 lead. However, Philadelphia came back with a giant punch when they answered with two touchdowns from Wentz to cut the lead to 30-28. The Eagles attempted the impossible with an onside kick, but the Ravens recovered and ran out the clock to avoid a major collapse and won in an unexpected second half.
The Ravens get to rest next week during their bye. They’ll get a chance to claim the division lead with a game against the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 1.
Featured Image courtesy of Karen Riley via Flickr Creative Commons
