Ravens demolish red-hot Lions thanks to Lamar Jackson’s big game

Lamar Jackson guided Baltimore to touchdowns on its first four possessions of a dominant first half as 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 4th-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.

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Detroit finally scored early in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard run by rookie Jahmyr Gibbs.

Baltimore has allowed a league-low seven touchdowns this season, and although the Ravens have faced some shaky quarterbacks, they made quite a statement against a Detroit team that came in on a roll.

The Lions had won four straight — all by at least 14 points — and they’d scored at least 20 points in 15 straight games. But they were no match for the Ravens on either side of the ball, and Baltimore had put backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in the game by the end.

Kyle Van Noy, who was drafted by Detroit in 2014, had two of Baltimore’s five sacks. Geno Stone of the Ravens contributed his fourth interception of the season.

INJURIES

Detroit’s Mohamed Ibrahim was carted off the field in the third quarter with a hip injury after returning a kickoff. Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez injured his ankle. … Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell went down with a hamstring injury.

UP NEXT

Lions: Host Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 30.

Ravens: At Arizona next Sunday.