Ravens Shock Rams in OT With Punt-Return Touchdown
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Ravens came into Week 14 off their bye looking to keep pace for the number one seed in the AFC. The Rams made it known early in the game to the Ravens that they were going to be in for a tough battle. In a game where the Ravens faced multiple points of adversity and sluggish play throughout the game, the Ravens were able to shock the Rams in OT on a 76-yard punt return touchdown by Tylan Wallace to seal the 37-31 victory to improve to 10-3 on the season. Let’s take a look at how the Ravens pulled off a thrilling overtime victory.
To begin the game, the Rams made certain to establish the run game against the Ravens’ defense as they ran the ball on their first nine plays of their first drive. The Rams got the scoring underway with a 27-yard field goal by kicker Lucas Havrisik to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Following back-to-back punts to begin the game, the Ravens got on the board with a 54-yard-deep pass touchdown to tight end Isaiah Likely to grab a 7-3 lead at the end of the quarter. The Rams would answer on their next drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cooper Kupp to regain the lead at 10-7 in the second quarter. The Ravens would respond on their corresponding drive with another deep shot pass to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for a 46-yard touchdown to gain a 14-10 lead.
The Rams would finish a stretch of back-to-back touchdown drives for both teams with the Rams taking a 17-14 lead following a seven-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Davis Allen with five minutes left in the half. Following a Lamar Jackson interception, the Rams would extend their lead to 20-14 on a 51-yard field goal by Havrisik with two minutes left. The Ravens would close out the half with a field goal of their own on a 31-yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker to trim the Rams’ lead to 20-17 entering halftime. To begin the second half, the Ravens would tie the game up at 20-20 after a 47-yard field goal by Tucker in the third quarter. The Ravens would gift the Rams with a self-inflicted safety following center Tyler Linderbaum snapping the ball pre-maturely that went into the end zone to give the Rams a 22-20 lead with five minutes left in the quarter.
To open up the fourth quarter, the Ravens would get back on track on their next drive to take a 23-22 lead following Tucker’s third field goal of the game from 33 yards away. With under five minutes left in regulation, Matthew Stafford and the Rams would respond with a late fourth-quarter touchdown following a five-yard pass to former Ravens wide receiver Demarcus Robinson to take a 28-23 lead. However, the Ravens were able to drive down the field to regain the lead with 1:16 remaining following Jackson’s 21-yard strike to wide receiver Zay Flowers, which put Baltimore up 31-28. After Stafford maneuvered the Rams into position to attempt several end-zone passes, Havrisik converted a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to force overtime.
To begin the overtime period, Jackson and the Ravens’ offense would stall and go three-and-out to give the Rams a shot at a game-winning field goal. However, the Ravens’ defense came up clutch and forced the Rams to punt as well. After fielding the punt and dodging a few tackles, Tylan Wallace—who had earlier in the game committed a critical penalty on special teams that resulted in points for Los Angeles raced into the end zone to lead the Ravens to a walk-off victory on a punt return.
In the victory, Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson finished the game going 24 for 43, with 316 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The Ravens would get major production from their top two receivers in Flowers and Beckham, who both caught a pass for a touchdown. Despite the loss, Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford had a stellar game going 23 for 41, with 294 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Rams would get consistent yardage on the ground from stellar running back Kyren Williams who racked up 114 rushing yards on 25 carries in the game. As well, Rams star wide receiver Cooper Kupp would terrorize the Ravens secondary with eight catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. The Rams will head back home looking to rebound next week against the Commanders, while the Ravens will travel down to Jacksonville to face off against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars on Sunday night football.
