The Ravens struggle to defend Lamar Jackson and it hurts them in the end

The pressure eventually caught up with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. During a 33-27 season-opening loss, Jackson’s second fumble set up the Las Vegas Raiders’ winning score in overtime. Jackson was struck from his right side on third-and-seven and coughed up the ball. Derek Carr’s winning 31-yard touchdown pass to Zay Jones was the result of this.

The Ravens struggle to defend Lamar Jackson and it hurts them in the end

The Ravens, particularly offensive tackles Ronnie Stanley and Alejandro Villanueva, fought to keep Jackson safe throughout the game. With his scrambling, Jackson was buying time, but he dropped the ball twice while attempting to extend drives. In his career, Jackson has fumbled 33 times. This was the first time the Ravens had started a season 0-1 since 2015. Baltimore will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, and things aren’t going to get any easier. In two words, describe the game: Quite unique. The Ravens lost despite taking a 14-point lead. Isn’t that unusual? In the regular season, Ravens coach John Harbaugh went 81-0 when leading by 14 points. Baltimore last lost a regular-season game with a 14-point lead against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004. Ty’Son Williams, running back, is a buy on a breakout performance. Williams gained 94 yards (65 yards rushing, 29 yards receiving) and a 35-yard touchdown in his debut start.

Due to season-ending injuries to J.K. Dobbins (knee) and Gus Edwards (knee) over the last two weeks, he jumped from Baltimore’s No. 3 back to the top of the depth chart. Williams’ failure to see the blitz on Baltimore’s final offensive play, however, proved costly. More injuries are becoming a troubling trend. With 1 minute, 13 seconds left in the second quarter, left guard Tyre Phillips was carried off the field with a knee injury and did not return. This is the latest in a string of poor luck for the Ravens, who have lost five players to season-ending injuries in the last three weeks. Phillips was replaced in the starting lineup by Ben Powers. Astonishing NextGen fact: It appeared like Jackson was about to sprint after his 10-yard touchdown pass to Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in the second quarter. Instead, Jackson demonstrated his patience as well as his incredible speed. He scrambled for 27 yards, purchased 7.84 seconds of time (NFL’s fifth longest on a TD pass in five years), and reached a speed of 15.7 mph before the throw (the fastest on a TD pass in Jackson’s career).