Week 8 of the NFL season gets underway with an interconference clash between a pair of teams that most would have expected to be much better than we’ve seen so far down in the Sunshine State. The Baltimore Ravens are on the road as they travel to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Baltimore held on to beat Cleveland 23-20 at home Sunday though they failed to cover as a 6.5-point favorite. Tampa Bay continued to sputter offensively as they were downed 21-3 on the road by Carolina Sunday, losing outright as a 13-point favorite. In the all-time regular season series, the Ravens own a 4-2 advantage and have taken the last four meetings. That includes a 20-12 triumph at home in the most recent matchup on December 16, 2018.
Baltimore nearly let another double-digit lead slip away but managed to escape with a win at home over Cleveland Sunday to avoid that ignominious achievement. The Ravens enter this game tied with the Bengals atop the AFC North with a 4-3 record though they own the tiebreaker based on their week 5 head-to-head victory. Against Cleveland, Baltimore trailed 10-3 after the opening quarter before reeling off 17 unanswered points to lead 20-10 midway through the third quarter. The Ravens saw their lead trimmed to three with nine minutes to play but thwarted the Browns’ attempts to tie or take the lead. They blocked a potential tying field goal attempt, then recovered a fumble on the game’s final play to secure the win. Baltimore was outgained 336-254 in total offense, lost the first down battle 18-17 but forced a pair of turnovers against one giveaway. The Ravens also controlled the clock by a 34:04 to 24:56 margin in the contest.&# 13;
For the season, the Ravens stand 26th in the league in passing offense with 189.7 yards per game through the air while they are fifth in rushing offense with 156.3 yards per contest. Baltimore is sixth in the league in scoring offense with 25.9 points per contest while they are 21st in scoring defense by allowing 23 points per game. Lamar Jackson is 121 of 197 passing for 1,397 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. He leads the team on the ground with 66 carries for 510 yards plus two scores though he has been sacked 14 times. Kenyan Drake (42 carries, 189 yards, TD), Justice Hill (24 carries, 151 yards), J.K. Dobbins (35 carries, 123 yards, TD) and Gus Edwards (16 carries, 66 yards, two TD) have all seen a share of the run game on the season. Mark Andrews leads the team with 39 receptions for 455 yards and five scores on the year. Rashod Bateman (15 receptions, 285 yards, two TD), Devin Duvernay (20 catches, 2 82 yards, three TD) and rookie tight end Isaiah Likely (10 grabs, 104 yards) are all over the 100-yard mark in receiving yards. Justin Tucker has hit 19 of 20 extra point attempts and 14 of 15 field goal tries with a long of 56 this year.
Baltimore's early injury report was based on a walkthrough Monday. Tight end Mark Andrews (knee), linebacker Josh Bynes (quad), defensive end Calais Campbell (illness), tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) along with cornerbacks Marcus Peters (quad) and Marlon Humphrey did not take part. Running back Gus Edwards (knee) and cornerback Brandon Stephens (oblique) were limited. With it being a short week, keep an eye out for updates on their statuses leading to kickoff.
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