Just as in the season opener, the Raiders defense kept it close early. It was a 3-0 Ravens lead at the end of the first quarter with the Ravens having converted just one first down. They forced a punt on the first drive and gave up just one first down on the second drive, with Maxx Crosby adding a sack to help stall the drive for a field goal.
Things started to pick up a bit for the Raiders offense to begin the second quarter with Brock Bowers making a couple catches along with Davante Adams, moving the Raiders past midfield before it stalled. Daniel Carlson added a 53-yard field goal to tie it up at 3-3.
The Ravens answers with another drive into scoring range. The Raiders defense would eventually stop them, but not before they reached the 25 and added another field goal to go back up 6-3.
An interception by Gardner Minshew gave the Ravens another chance to score late in the second quarter. But their drive would stall once again and this time Justin Tucker’s 56-yard attempt was no good wide left and the score remained 6-3.
Minshew came out to lead the two-minute drill. A 24-yard pass interference penalty on Marlon Humphrey put the Raiders in field goal range inside the 30. They lined up in third-and-five and Thayre Munford was beaten on the edge by Kyle Van Noy to give up the nine-yard sack. Daniel Carlson hit the 51-yard field goal to tie it back up at 6-6 with 1:37 left in the second quarter.
That was enough time for the Ravens to drive deep into Raiders territory, but the Raiders defense ultimately stiffened up in the red zone, forcing a field goal and the Ravens took a 9-6 lead into the half.
Just like last week, Minshew was completing a high percentage of his passes, but the results weren’t there. He was 14 of 16 for 64 yards and an interception.
Right out the gates in the third quarter, the Ravens ran right through the Raiders. They got first downs on their first two plays on a run up the middle and a pass to a wide open Mark Andrews. Then Derrick Henry took the handoff for 29 yards up the left sideline to put them in first and goal at the nine. Two plays later, Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers for an easy touchdown over the middle to make it a 16-6 Ravens lead.
After a turnover on downs for the Raiders, it looked like the Ravens might march right back down for another score. But everything changed when Jakorian Bennett broke up a pass and Robert Spillane intercepted it. The Raiders took full advantage of the takeaway, driving for a touchdown. The big play was a 27-yard completion to Brock Bowers to the one-yard-line. Alexander Mattison got the handoff from the one and punched it in for the score to make it a 16-13 game.
That didn’t last long. The Ravens marched right back down the field, leaning on Derrick Henry who ran for 38 yards and a touchdown on the drive to make bring it back to a ten-point Ravens lead at 23-13.
True to the now back-and-forth of this game, the Raiders offense started moving too. Gardner Minshew connected with Davante Adams for 28 yards and then Davante made a brilliant sideline grab on the tips of his toes, leaning out of bounds for a 30-yard gain to put them in first and goal at the nine-yard-line.
They would settle for a field goal to make it a one-score game at 23-16.
The defense did their job to force a three-and-out on the Ravens and give the offense another shot. And the offense didn’t squander those efforts.
Minshew went back to the air, connecting with Davante Adams on another deep ball up the left sideline for 29 yards. An 11-yard completion to Brock Bowers put them in first and goal at the nine. A Baltimore pass inferference in the end zone gave the Raiders another first and goal at the one. And Minshew faked a run, throwing over the top to Adams for the game-tying touchdown.
The Raiders defense AGAIN held the Ravens to a three-and-out. And it featured a huge nine-yard sack by Maxx Crosby, his second of the game.
After a short punt and a penalty, the Raiders started with the ball in Baltimore territory. Zamir White ran it four times for 16 yards and Minshew completed an eight yard pass to Jakobi Meyers to put them in field goal range and run the clock down. Daniel Carlson connected on his field goal to give the Raiders the lead at 26-23.
The Ravens had 27 seconds to try and drive to tie it up and they couldn’t do it.
In a game they were 9.5-point underdogs on the road, the Raiders pull off the 26-23 win to improve to 1-1 on the season.
