Ravens-Buccaneers, Chargers-Cardinals on Monday night: What We Learned from Baltimore's, Arizona's wins

Baltimore Ravens

5-2-0

AT

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4-3-0

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• READ: Bucs WR Godwin to undergo surgery on dislocated ankle this week
• READ: Lamar Jackson’s five TD passes power Ravens over Buccaneers
• READ: Buccaneers WR Evans hauls in 100th career TD catch

1. Lamar Jackson lights up another Monday night. If you thought Jackson’s 2023 MVP season was the peak of his powers, you’ve quickly realized you were wrong. Jackson has taken his game to another level in 2024 and proved it again Monday night, shaking off a rough first possession to lead a fireworks display in the second and third quarters. After punting on their first drive, the Ravens went: touchdown, touchdown, field goal, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, fumble (on a backwards pass by Jackson), touchdown. Baltimore scored 34 unanswered points after falling behind, 10-0, and Jackson was at the center of it, dotting the field with accurate passes at a variety of depths before launching a majestic missile to Rashod Bateman for a 49-yard touchdown pass that sent a message: These Ravens can’t be stopped. Jackson finished with a fantastic final stat line: 17 of 22 for 281 yards and five passing touchdowns, plus nine carries for 52 yards. This offense is humming and Jackson is the engine that drives it. We have a leader in our MVP race, folks.
2. Buccaneers learn the value of Mike Evans. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer made a nice grab on an underthrown pass for an early Buccaneers touchdown, once again proving himself as the trusty favorite target of Baker Mayfield. When Mayfield looked toward Evans in the end zone later, though, Evans’ tricky hamstring had had enough. Evans dropped the ball and winced in pain as he grabbed his hamstring while laying behind the end line, concluding his night and throwing his immediate future into doubt. The same future became uncertain for the Buccaneers, who demonstrated just how important Evans is to their passing offense. Mayfield lost his go-to target, a receiver upon whom Mayfield has leaned heavily since arriving in Tampa in 2023, and had nowhere else to turn with Chris Godwin becoming the obvious top remaining target. Once Evans left, the Buccaneers’ next four drives ended in two interceptions (including one in the end zone) and a missed field goal, and it wasn’t until the game was out of reach that Mayfield was able to find success with other receivers. Eliminating Evans from the equation undercuts the entire Buccaneers’ offensive operation, and on Monday night, it was obvious how much more difficult passing became for Mayfield without Evans on the field. Making matters worse, Godwin suffered what looks like a season-ending ankle injury late in this game, making for a nightmarish outlook for a Buccaneers offense that was explosive for most of the first seven weeks of the season.
3. Ravens defense gets off the mat. Marlon Humphrey picked off Mayfield twice in the first half Monday night, but it came at a cost. Humphrey suffered a knee injury on his second pick and did not return to the game, causing new concern for a secondary that still hasn’t welcomed back Arthur Maulet from injured reserve and played without linebacker Malik Harrison. That’s it for the bad news, though, because these Ravens proved an early haymaker isn’t going to drop them for good. Baltimore gave up a quick 10 points that easily could’ve been 14, then responded by shutting down Tampa Bay’s offense until the game was in hand. After the Buccaneers’ trip that reached the Ravens’ 3-yard line before Humphrey’s first interception, Tampa didn’t come close to the red zone again until the fourth quarter. Baltimore has made an unsavory reputation as a team that blows leads, but their defense deserves some credit for standing tall in a key stretch, allowing their offense additional possessions to rack up points.
4. Tampa Bay gets a reality check. At 4-2, the Buccaneers entered Monday night as the favorite to win the NFC South, appearing as the most complete team in the division with an offense that was liable to explode at any moment. They left Raymond James Stadium with a different vibe after this defeat. The losses of Evans and Godwin are obviously concerning, but so was their defense’s inability to stop the Ravens even once during their run of 34 straight points. Todd Bowles’ aggressive defense collapsed against Jackson and Co., and with both Godwin and Evans’ immediate futures now in doubt, the Buccaneers are going to have to dig deep to find a way to keep up with the mercurial Atlanta Falcons in an NFC South race that is suddenly tight at the top.

Next Gen Stats insight from Ravens-Buccaneers (via NFL Pro): Derrick Henry reached a top speed of 21.72 mph on his 81-yard run Monday night, recording the fifth-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season and the third-fastest top speed of Henry’s career. Buccaneers defensive back Zyon McCollum reached 21.85 mph in pursuit of Henry to prevent Henry from scoring a touchdown.

NFL Research: Monday night marked the fifth career game in which Lamar Jackson recorded five-plus passing touchdowns and zero interceptions, the most such performances in the NFL since Jackson entered the league in 2018. It was also his fifth career game with a 155-plus passer rating, tying with Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger for the most such games in NFL history.

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• READ: Conner ‘put the team on his back’ as Cardinals beat Chargers 

1. Kyler Murray, James Conner carry Cardinals to hard-fought win. It wasn’t pretty, but Arizona’s quarterback and running back duo found a way to get the job done. As he usually does, Conner set the tone, running hard through tacklers on his way to a 101-yard game on 19 attempts. He chipped in two catches for 51 yards, and his 33-yard reception opened the door for Arizona to set up a game-winning field goal. In order to get there, though, Murray had to dig himself out of early struggles in the passing game and in typical Murray fashion, he did so with his legs, scrambling left around Chargers rookie linebacker Junior Colson (who took a terrible pursuit angle) for a 44-yard touchdown run. That run and a bullet fired to Greg Dortch for a touchdown stood as Murray’s greatest highlights for an offense that ran into plenty of resistance, but delivered in their most important moments. Viewing Arizona’s offense still feels like a slog, but against a team that prides itself on toughness, these Cardinals rose to the occasion, scoring a big win that moves them closer to .500. They don’t get there without Murray and Conner.
2. Chargers lack attention to detail. It’s become clear that when the Chargers don’t run the ball well, the onus falls on Justin Herbert‘s shoulders to try to keep them afloat. On Monday night, his teammates failed him. The number of on-target Herbert passes that were dropped by receivers numbed the mind, and even when they were caught, the final results fell short of expectation. Jalen Reagor blew a great opportunity after catching a beautiful deep pass from Herbert by fumbling away possession just short of the goal line, resulting in a touchback. It seemed as if nearly every pass-catcher had at least one drop. And when given a chance to bleed clock late, the Chargers opted to throw a low-percentage pass on third down while in field goal range, preserving time for the Cardinals to mount one last comeback drive. The final result? A 349-yard night for Herbert and just 15 total points scored via five Cameron Dicker field goals. That’s not good enough to win in this league, plain and simple.
3. Where is Marvin Harrison Jr.? Arizona’s defense could probably use some attention here for preventing the Chargers from finding the end zone, but I’m more concerned about the Cardinals’ inability to utilize their first-round receiver. Harrison was a ghost for most of Monday night, so much that it felt as if the entire viewing audience was clamoring for the Cardinals to scheme up even one one-on-one matchup for the former Ohio State star. He ended the night with three catches on six targets for 21 yards, dropped a jump ball thrown between two defenders and didn’t play a part in Arizona’s winning effort. This offense already has enough issues (especially on third down, unless it’s Murray improvising), and while Harrison undoubtedly attracts plenty of defensive attention, that alone doesn’t excuse his low usage. If they’re ever going to establish a consistent passing game — Murray finished with 145 passing yards — they’ll need to work through Harrison to get it done. Otherwise, they’re wasting their first-round pick and putting far too much pressure on Murray.
4. Los Angeles is still searching for answers. Much of the Chargers’ early season success came without fireworks, and while that was once again true Monday night, their strength — a physical defense — crumbled down the stretch. Murray and Conner reached halftime with a combined total of 120 scrimmage yards and had seven points to show for it, making for a pretty good showing from the Chargers’ defense. That total finished at 297 yards. The Chargers won the time of possession battle by more than eight minutes, yet when it came time to get a stop in the fourth quarter, they let Murray get loose for a long touchdown run, then allowed him to engineer a seven-play, 56-yard drive to set up Chad Ryland‘s game-winning field goal. If defense is going to be their calling card, the Chargers need to deliver in these situations, especially against a Cardinals offense that has often proven to be a challenged group. Sure, we can point to their lack of scoring production but in a winnable situation, they failed tonight.

Next Gen Stats insight from Chargers-Cardinals (via NFL Pro): James Conner totaled 19 rushes for 101 yards, including five runs of 10-plus yards, tied for the second-most by a running back in a game this season.

NFL Research: Monday night was Kyler Murray’s 20th career game with one or more passing touchdowns and one or more rushing touchdowns, tying for the second most such performances since entering the NFL in 2019. The game-winning drive was also Murray’s 12th of his career.