Ravens Fall to Lions in Prime-Time Shootout

The Baltimore Ravens have been the better team on the field in the vast majority of their games over the past couple of years. Even in some of the games they lost, one could argue that they were better for the majority of the game but just beat themselves in a few critical moments.

Not so in their Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions on "Monday Night Football," however. The Lions were the better team throughout the night and earned a hard-fought 38-30 road victory over the Ravens.

The game was actually fairly even for about a half, and the Ravens even took a 21-14 lead when Lamar Jackson found Mark Andrews for a 14-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. After that, though, they completely fell apart.

Sep 22, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) drops back to pass against the Detroit Lions during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Throughout the final 25 minutes or so of game time, the Lions just physically dominated on both sides of the ball. On offense, they rushed for a whopping 225 yards on 6.5 yards per carry, with David Montgomery going for 151 yards and two touchdowns and Jahmyr Gibbs for 67 yards and two touchdowns of his own. For reference, the highest rushing total the Ravens allowed all of last season was 147 yards in the Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills.

On defense, the Lions' front simply manhandled the Ravens' offensive line. Detroit finished the game with seven sacks for a total of 55 lost yards for Baltimore. Jackson was sacked just 23 times all of last season.

Then on the opposite side of the coin, the Ravens had next to no pass rush and failed to get to Jared Goff even once. Some troubles were to be expected with Nnamdi Madubuike and Kyle Van Noy out due to injury, but no one really stepped up in their place.

Jackson completed 21 of 27 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns for a strong 148.1 passer rating, while Andrews had six receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Derrick Henry rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown, but didn't do much after the opening drive and had another back-breaking fumble in the fourth quarter.

For Detroit, Goff completed 20 of 28 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.

The Ravens now fall to 1-2 on the season, and with a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs next up on the docket, it's not going to be any easier going forward.

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