Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco continues his strong start to the preseason. He was 7 of 9 for 72 yards and a touchdown against the Colts. That’s a passer rating of 137.
But according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, “Lamar Jackson’s growing pains were painful on Monday Night Football at the Indianapolis Colts. He was inaccurate once again (7 of 15) and he took too many hits when running, including getting flipped over on one collision. Jackson’s best throw was a seven-yard touchdown when rolling to his right. He’s at his best when throwing on the run, but he has yet to prove he can consistently throw in the pocket. Jackson hasn’t completed over half of his passes in any of his three preseason appearances. The Ravens have a major decision on whether to give the primary backup job to Jackson or carry a third quarterback in Robert Griffin III, who has been impressive this preseason.”
Okay, good news, iffy news…
Scoring Summary
| first Quarter | BAL | IND | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
FG
0:49
Adam Vinatieri Made 57 Yrd Field Goal
12 plays, 48 yards, 5:14
|
0 | 3 |
| second Quarter | BAL | IND | |
 |
TD
13:21
John Brown Pass From Joe Flacco for 7 Yrds, J.Tucker extra point is GOOD, Center-M.Cox, Holder-S.Koch.
6 plays, 67 yards, 2:23
|
7 | 3 |
|
TD
5:26
Chester Rogers 0 Yrd Fumble Recovery, A.Vinatieri extra point is GOOD, Center-L.Rhodes, Holder-R.Sanchez.
6 plays, 51 yards, 2:14
|
7 | 10 |
|
FG
0:06
Justin Tucker Made 38 Yrd Field Goal
10 plays, 56 yards, 1:10
|
10 | 10 |
| third Quarter | BAL | IND | |
|
TD
12:40
Chris Moore Pass From Lamar Jackson for 7 Yrds, K.Vedvik extra point is GOOD, Center-T.Sieg, Holder-S.Koch.
5 plays, 27 yards, 2:13
|
17 | 10 |
| fourth Quarter | BAL | IND | |
|
FG
8:55
Kaare Vedvik Made 48 Yrd Field Goal
11 plays, 60 yards, 5:10
|
20 | 10 |
|
FG
6:06
Mike Badgley Made 43 Yrd Field Goal
9 plays, 51 yards, 2:44
|
20 | 13 |
|
TD
2:24
Zach Pascal Pass From Phillip Walker for 9 Yrds, TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. P.Walker rushes up the middle. ATTEMPT FAILS.
1 play, 9 yards, 0:05
|
20 | 19 |
| Matchup | |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 21 | 15 |
| Passing 1st downs | 7 | 8 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 10 | 6 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 4 | 1 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 2-13 | 6-18 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-1 | 2-3 |
| Total Plays | 67 | 66 |
| Total Yards | 266 | 284 |
| Total Drives | 13 | 15 |
| Yards per Play | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| Passing | 127 | 215 |
| Comp-Att | 20-32 | 22-40 |
| Yards per pass | 3.6 | 4.9 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 3-25 | 4-33 |
| Rushing | 139 | 69 |
| Rushing Attempts | 32 | 22 |
| Yards per rush | 4.3 | 3.1 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-2 | 2-4 |
| Penalties | 8-56 | 13-129 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 2 | 1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 29:25 | 30:35 |
Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass in the first half, Lamar Jackson added another in the second half and the Baltimore Ravens ruined Andrew Luck‘s Indianapolis homecoming by topping the Colts 20-19 on Monday night.
As we said, Flacco looked sharp, going 7 of 9 for 72 yards before departing.
Jackson then showed flashes of what helped him win the 2016 Heisman Trophy. He was 7 of 15 for 49 yards and carried four times for 26 yards before giving way to another Heisman winner, Robert Griffin III, in the fourth quarter.
But Colts fans wanted to see what Luck would do for an encore following a solid start in their preseason opener at Seattle.
This time, Luck had a tough night. He threw an interception before logging his first completion, took a hard hit from Terrell Suggs on the first of two sacks and only led Indy on one scoring drive — setting up 45-year-old Adam Vinateiri for a 57-yard field goal.
Luck was 6 of 13 for 50 yards with a quarterback rating of 24.5.
The Colts (1-1) blew one red-zone scoring chance on Luck’s pick and another when they turned the ball over on downs at the Ravens 3 in the third quarter. They got their first touchdown when Jordan Wilkins‘ fumble bounced right into the hands of Chester Rogers in the end zone.
After Tarell Basham‘s fumble recovery at the Ravens 9 led to Phillip Walker‘s TD pass to Zach Pascal with 2:24 left, giving the Colts a chance to come back, Walker was stopped short on the 2-poiont conversion run.
Baltimore recovered the onside kick to seal it.
Flacco gave the Ravens a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter when he hooked up with John Brown for a 7-yard score.
After Indy made it 10-7 on Rogers’ improbable score, Jackson led a masterful hurry-up drive at the end of the first half, which ended with Justin Tucker‘s 38-yard field goal with 2 seconds left.
The Ravens’ backup quarterback took advantage again after Colts rookie Nyheim Hines lost a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half.
Five plays later, Jackson hooked up with Chris Moore on a 7-yard TD pass to make it 17-10 — a lead the Ravens never relinquished.
Baltimore’s Kaare Vedvik made a 48-yard field goal and Indy’s Michael Badgley also made a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Frankly, the Little League World Series game which was on another channel opposite this game was more entertaining. I found myself switching back and forth on the TV controller in the 4th quarter. But we did get to see a much more diverse Ravens offense with the first-team guys in there. And Orlando Brown Jr. flashed some nice athleticism with downfield blocking from his RT position in the second half.
INJURIES—
Ravens: Right guard Marshal Yanda and cornerback Jimmy Smith did not play. Smith was excused for “personal reasons” which appear to be related to a possible disciplinary action coming from the NFL League office related to a domestic dispute last year. Rookie Orlando Brown Jr. made the start on the offensive line. But the Ravens did not announce any significant injuries during the game. However, after the game, LT Ronnie Stanley was disclosed as having a moderately sprained knee which could keep him out of the rest of preseason action.
Colts: Indy played without receiver T.Y. Hilton (shoulder), running back Marlon Mack (hamstring), left tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring) and safety Malik Hooker (knee) — all projected starters. Starting safety Clayton Geathers saw his first game action since undergoing offseason knee injury. But after losing their top two running backs in Seattle — Mack and Robert Turbin (ankle) — they lost another one, Josh Ferguson (groin), on Monday. Ferguson did not return.
Game Leaders
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