ExtremeRavens Posted December 10, 2023 Posted December 10, 2023 Tylan Wallace made perhaps the game’s biggest mistake. He didn’t miss his chance at redemption. Wallace, a Ravens’ backup wide receiver and special teams player, committed an inexplicable offsides penalty in the first half that spurred a Los Angeles Rams scoring drive. More than two hours later, as the cloudy sky at M&T Bank Stadium began to give way to darkness, Wallace more than made up for his miscue in overtime, returning a punt 76 yards for a walk-off touchdown and a 37-31 Ravens win. Wallace, who was filling in for the injured Devin Duvernay, weaved through the Rams’ punt coverage, broke several tackles and maintained his balance up the sideline as he pranced into the end zone for his first career touchdown. His mistake was far from the only one of the afternoon. Lamar Jackson’s first-half interception and Tyler Linderbaum’s untimely snap also aided the Rams (6-7). But three touchdown passes over 20 yards from Jackson, including a beautiful 21-yarder to rookie Zay Flowers with 1:16 left in regulation, kept the Ravens alive as the defense struggled. The win pushes the Ravens to the top spot in the AFC with a 10-3 record. They hold a two-game lead in the AFC North and are a half-game ahead of the Dolphins (9-3), who play Monday night, in the conference. After the Ravens punted on their first possession, running back Kyren Williams and the Rams’ rushing attack gashed Baltimore’s front seven for 52 yards on nine straight carries to get inside the 10-yard line. But the Rams inexplicably called three straight pass plays — all incompletions — and settled for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. The Ravens’ second offensive drive featured a few downfield pass attempts — perhaps the biggest thing missing from Baltimore’s offense — that fell incomplete, including one to Rashod Bateman, who briefly slowed up during his route and then couldn’t catch up to the pass. Jackson’s next deep ball wouldn’t suffer a similar fate. The Rams didn’t have to prepare for tight end Mark Andrews, who is likely out for the remainder of the regular season after undergoing ankle surgery, and they forgot to account for his backup, Isaiah Likely, on the third play of Baltimore’s third offensive drive. Likely ran free down the left sideline, and Jackson found the second-year tight end wide-open for an easy 54-yard touchdown to give Baltimore a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. Tylan Wallace leaps into the end zone to score the game-winning touchdown on a 76-yard punt return in overtime of the Ravens' 37-31 win over the Rams on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Staff)Baltimore Ravens Tylan Wallace runs toward the end zone, retuning a punt for a touchdown as the Baltimore Ravens defeat the Los Angeles Rams 37-31 in overtime at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Baltimore Ravens Tylan Wallace flips into the end zone after retuning a punt for a touchdown as the Baltimore Ravens defeat the Los Angeles Rams 37-31 in overtime at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Tylan Wallace leaps into the end zone to score the game-winning touchdown on a punt return in overtime of the Ravens' 37-31 win over the Rams on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Staff)Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh talks with officials during an injury timeout as the Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium.(Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, left, celebrates his 54-yard touchdown pass to tight end Isaiah Likely, right, in the first quarter Sunday against the Rams (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff)Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh talks with officials during an injury timeout as the Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium.(Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. celebrates his 46-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter Sunday against the Rams. (Jerry Jackson/Staff)DEC. 10, 2023: Baltimore Ravens Isaiah Likely, center, dives onto the end zone against Los Angeles Rams Jordan Fuller for a touchdown in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff photo)DEC. 10, 2023: Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers warms up before game against the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff photo)DEC. 10, 2023: Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald observes warm up before game against the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff photo)DEC. 10, 2023: Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald observes warm up before game against the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff photo)DEC. 10, 2023: Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson warms up before game against the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff photo)DEC. 10, 2023: Baltimore RavensÕ Ben Cleveland, from left, Tyler Linderbaum and Patrick Mekari stand together during warm up before game against the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff photo)DEC. 10, 2023: Baltimore RavensÕ Tyler Linderbaum , left, and Patrick Mekari stand together during warm up before game against the Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff photo)Baltimore Ravens Patrick Mekari and Tyler Linderbaum stand together during warm-ups as the Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium.(Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson takes the field for warm-ups as the Baltimore Ravens prepare to host the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson takes the field for warm-ups as the Baltimore Ravens prepare to host the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is greeted by fans as the Baltimore Ravens prepare to host the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Staff photo)Show Caption of Expand The Rams responded with big plays of their own on the next drive, reaching the red zone thanks to a deep pass to former Raven Demarcus Robinson, a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on safety Marcus Williams and a chunk gain by star wideout Cooper Kupp after a short pass. Matthew Stafford then retook the lead in the second quarter by perfectly rainbowing a pass to Kupp in the back-left corner of the end zone for a 6-yard score — the first of the quarterback’s three touchdown passes. The 35-year-old was 23-for-41 passing for 294 yards, while Jackson was 24-for-43 with 316 yards and three scores while also rushing a team-high 11 times for 70 yards in one of his best performances of the year. The back-and-forth first half continued on the next two drives. Baltimore responded to the Stafford-Kupp connection with perhaps the one becoming its best since Andrews’ injury. Jackson threw another deep touchdown to a wide-open pass catcher, this time Odell Beckham Jr., for a 46-yard score. Beckham Jr., who helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI before tearing his ACL in the February 2022 game, returned from his injury this season, and after a slow start, he’s now scored or totaled 100 receiving yards in four of his past five games. The Ravens’ should’ve gotten the ball back two minutes later, but Wallace’s penalty on the punt gave the Rams new life. Stafford capitalized on the mental mistake and put the Rams up 17-14 with a 7-yard touchdown to Davis Allen on a tight end screen. Baltimore and Los Angeles traded field goals to end the first half — a 51-yarder by Lucas Havrisik and a 31-yarder by Justin Tucker. The Ravens had the ball in the red zone with about a minute remaining, but conservative play-calling and questionable timeout usage spoiled any chance for a touchdown. The 20 points allowed by the Ravens’ defense was double its worst first-half performance of the season. Entering Sunday, the Ravens hadn’t surrendered more than 10 points in any of their 12 first halves for an average of 5.58 points allowed. Sandwiched between two Rams punts in the third quarter was a Tucker 47-yard field goal that tied the game. Los Angeles’ offense stalled in the third, but the Rams still went into the fourth — a quarter in which Baltimore has struggled this season — with a 22-20 lead thanks to the safety the Ravens handed them. With Jackson surveying the defense presnap, Linderbaum snapped the ball without his signal-caller looking. It rolled into the end zone, and Jackson kicked the ball out of the end zone and into the stands to prevent a Rams player from landing on it for a touchdown. Baltimore’s defense remained stout in the second half, forcing the Rams to punt for a fourth straight drive. Jackson then got the Ravens into field goal range, and instead of going for it on fourth-and-short, coach John Harbaugh elected to send Tucker out for a 33-yard field goal. Stafford then orchestrated an eight-play, 85-yard drive — culminating in a 5-yard touchdown pass to Robinson with 4:47 remaining — but his 2-point conversion attempt was deflected. Jackson responded with a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive. The Ravens had their backs against the wall facing a third-and-17, but Jackson’s dime to Flowers — and 2-point conversion to the rookie — gave Baltimore a 31-28 advantage. Stafford did it again in the final 90 seconds, thanks in large part to a 34-yard pass to Kupp, setting up Havrisik for a game-tying field goal. The 31 points allowed are the most by the Ravens defense this season. The Ravens went three-and-out to start overtime and two incompletions by Stafford, including a drop by Allen on third down, set up Wallace’s redemption. This story will be updated. Week 15 Jaguars at Ravens Sunday, 8:20 p.m. TV: NBC Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM View the full article Quote
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