BALTIMORE (AP) — Lamar Jackson guided Baltimore to touchdowns on its first four possessions of a dominant first half, and the Ravens trounced the Detroit Lions 38-6 on Sunday in a matchup of division leaders that was lopsided from the start.
Baltimore (5-2) was up 28-0 before the NFC North-leading Lions (5-2) even managed a first down. It was the most complete performance of the season by the Ravens, and a resurgent Detroit squad fell flat while facing a major test on the road.
Jackson went 21 of 27 for 357 yards and three touchdowns, finishing with a near-perfect passer rating of 155.8. He also ran for a TD. Jackson had great success with deep passes, often finding receivers open in the secondary with plenty of room to run. Baltimore protected Jackson well, and when that started to break down, his scrambling kept plays going.
Jackson opened the scoring with a 7-yard bootleg on fourth-and-1. On his team’s next possession, he escaped the pocket to the right and extended the play long enough to find Nelson Agholor for a 12-yard touchdown.
An 11-yard TD pass to Mark Andrews made it 21-0, and then Gus Edwards scored on a 2-yard run. At that point, the Lions had only managed three three-and-outs. Baltimore had a 28-0 lead, a 16-0 edge in first downs and a 325-13 advantage in total yards.
Detroit drove all the way to the Baltimore 6 to start the second half but turned the ball over on downs. The Ravens needed only four plays to go almost the entire length of the field. Edwards was so open for a short pass that he rumbled for an 80-yard gain, and Jackson’s 8-yard scoring toss to Andrews gave the AFC North leaders a 35-0 advantage.
Detroit finally scored early in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard run by rookie Jahmyr Gibbs.
BEARS 30, RAIDERS 12
CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Tyson Bagent led three touchdown drives with Justin Fields sidelined, D’Onta Foreman ran for two scores and caught a TD pass, and the Chicago Bears beat the Las Vegas Raiders 30-12 on Sunday.
The Bears (2-5) won for the second time in three games after dropping 14 in a row. They won a showdown of backup quarterbacks after both teams’ starters were injured the previous week. Fields dislocated his right thumb in a loss to Minnesota, while Las Vegas’ Jimmy Garoppolo exited a win over New England with a back problem.
Brian Hoyer threw for 129 yards and two interceptions, and the Raiders (3-4) got blown out after winning back-to-back games.
The Bears simplified the game plan and relied on short throws and handoffs with Bagent — undrafted out of Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia — behind center. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a TD, helping Chicago stop a 10-game home losing streak.
Foreman ran for 89 yards on 16 attempts and his first two touchdowns since signing with Chicago in March. He scored from the 2 in the first quarter and the 3 early in the second as the Bears grabbed a 14-0 lead, then caught a 5-yard TD in the third to make it 21-3.
DJ Moore caught eight passes for 54 yards.
