The Ravens opened up strong, scoring on their first offensive drive, but then the defense allowed Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask to lead scoring drives that put Tampa Bay up 14-7 early.
With Baltimore’s starters and critical reserves sitting out, rookies and select veterans are playing to lock up a spot on one of the best rosters in the AFC.
Owen Wright had four carries for 31 yards; Charlie Kolar had three receptions for 41 yards; Laquon Treadwell had two for 33 yards and a touchdown, while James Proche had an excellent first half, logging two for 28 yards.
With one-half of football remaining, we’re looking at key takeaways and observations.
Josh Johnson
Johnson got the start and drove Baltimore 80 yards in 1:59.
The journeyman veteran connected on four attempts over 15+ yards before finding Laquan Treadwell for a 24-yard touchdown.
Quick work!! @Head8cke finds @SuccessfulQuon for an opening drive TOUCHDOWN!!
Tune in now on @wbaltv11. pic.twitter.com/B43w9viQcL
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 26, 2023
Johnson was done after one quarter and finished his preseason finale going 6-10 passing, for 95 yards and 1 TD.
Ravens defense shredded
With the Ravens defensive starters on the bench, Baker Mayfield led the Bucs on a 6 play, 59 yards drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Chris Godwin for 11-yards.
Kyle Trask then led Tampa Bay on a 12 play, 94-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to David Wells.
Jalyn Armour-Davis gave multiple big plays on the drive.
Bucs QBs are 12-for-13 for 110 yards and two TDs in the first quarter, good for a 14-7 lead on Ravens.
Baker Mayfield 6-for-6, 42, TD
Kyle Trask 6-for-7, 67, TD— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 26, 2023
Kyu Kelly
Kyu Kelly blew a coverage on Chris Godwin touchdown catch, and had a rough first half overall.
Anthony Brown
Brown entered the game after Josh Johnson went 6-10 passing for 95-yards and one touchdown.
Brown entered the contest and had one completion for 16-yards, but then fumbled on a 15-yard run, giving the quarterback two turnovers this summer.
Overall, Brown finished the first half 3-5 for 24 yards passing.
Roquan Smith
The All-Pro linebacker didn’t play, but he talked to WBAL about how lethal the Ravens defense can be in 2023.
Roquan fired up for this defense to show the world what we can do. 😈
Tune in now on @wbaltv11. pic.twitter.com/3tQtZkCTwJ
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 26, 2023
Sean Ryan
The rookie out of Rutgers appears to have hit the wall and he may ended any chance of making the 53-man roster after he dropped a 21-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Brown.
This is the Sean Ryan everyone was hyping up?!? The way our defence is playing we can not have drops this bad. pic.twitter.com/myP7WXYxGh
— CK (@legacyCK) August 27, 2023
Random Notes
Del’Shawn Phillips led the Ravens with 8 first half tackles.
Anthony Brown led Baltimore with 5 carries for 39 yards.
Baltimore had 10 first downs in the first half, with 196 yards on 29 total plays.
