Instant Replay: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Eliminated From Playoff Contention with Loss to Ravens

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers struggled to contain Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The 241 yards of offense was the lowest of the season for Tampa Bay and the whole team looked sluggish, playing in the rain. The Baltimore Ravens inched closer to a playoff birth with the win while Tampa Bay has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

First Quarter

Tampa Bay received the opening kickoff but did nothing with the first possession. The first possession ended in one of the five first quarter punts by both teams. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans had crucial drops on the first two Tampa Bay possessions. Lavonte David recovered a fumble that set up the Buccaneers with the ball in Baltimore territory. The Buccaneers began a touchdown drive to take a 6-0 lead as the extra point was no good due to a botched snap. Peyton Barber scored the touchdown on a three yard touchdown run after a holding penalty gave Tampa Bay a first and goal.

Second Quarter

The second quarter accounted for more scoring than the first as the Ravens got on the scoreboard with a touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Chris Moore. Justin Tucker added on the extra point to give Baltimore a 6-7 lead. On the next drive, Jameis Winston made his best play of the year. He scrambled to his left avoiding pressure and threw a dime to Mike Evans for 64-yards. The throw set up a Tampa Bay field goal. With just under 2:00 remaining, the Ravens began a drive in which they marched down the field and kicked a field goal to take the lead heading into halftime.

Second Half

Third Quarter

The Ravens took the opening drive of the half into the endzone on a Gus Edwards 10-yard touchdown run to take a 9-17 lead. Later in the quarter, Cyrus Jones muffed a punt that turned into a Tampa Bay field goal. On the ensuing drive, Lamar Jackson led the Ravens down the field again. This time, a Justin Tucker field goal was the result, to extend the lead to 12-20. During the third quarter, the Buccaneers possessed the ball for only 4:20 compared to Baltimore’s 10:40 of possession time.

Fourth Quarter

Jameis Winston reverted back to his old ways with an interception on an extremely short throw to Mike Evans. The Buccaneers got the ball back after a defensive stop, but failed to score due to a turnover on downs. Once the Ravens got possession back with just over 7:00 remaining, they ran out the remainder of the clock. The final time of possession for Baltimore reached 37:10 compared to Tampa Bay’s 22:50. 

Jameis Winston finished with 157 passing yards and an interception. Peyton Barber totaled 85 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown.

Lamar Jackson had 227 total yards with a passing touchdown. Gus Edwards broke the century mark on the ground with 104 yards.

Up next for Tampa Bay is a trip to Dallas to take on the Cowboys.

Coming up for Baltimore is a trip to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers.