In the fourth quarter at Baltimore’s 30 yard line, Jared Goff sent a long pass to the right intended for wideout Robert Woods. Instead of reaching his target, Ravens corner Marcus Peters intercepted it. This one play summed up the Rams 45-6 Monday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Their opponent found success on every turn, thwarting their defense and offense. Any glimmer of progress the Rams made was short lived throughout the night.
Peters made his disdain about his mid-season trade from the Rams to the Ravens known by leading the defense with eight combined tackles and 22 interception yards.
Quarterback Jared Goff made 26 passes for 212 yards, wide receiver Robert Woods made six catches for 97 yards and running back Todd Gurley earned 22 rushing yards. Linebacker Corey Littleton made 12 tackles. Gurley was the sole contributor to rushes in the match up.
“We had opportunities. We just messed them up ourselves,” he said. “We didn’t convert when we had the chance either.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson made 15 tosses for 169 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Mark Ingram II led the Ravens with 15 rushes for 11 yards and wide receiver Marquise Brown made five catches for 42 yards and two touchdowns.
“I think what we will all look at ourselves, critically, figure out what we can do to improve, flush this out of our system and then we move forward, preparing for our next opponent,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay.
This is the fifth game this season in which defensive tackle Aaron Donald did not get a sack. In games where Donald did not get a sack this season, the Rams only won twice. When Donald secures at least one sack, the Rams hold their opponents to at most 20 points.
The first quarter belonged to the Ravens as Jackson and the receiver corps gained two touchdowns in their first two possessions. Baltimore found ideal field placement from the punt returns wide receiver and Crenshaw alum De’Anthony Thomas.
Los Angeles only escaped one third down and the rushers only gained 19 yards in the first half. In that same time, Jackson hit all nine of his targets and made devious scramble plays that gave the Ravens big advances.
“We’ve been clicking on all cylinders. It starts in practice. Our defense flies around,” Jackson said. “Our scout team does a great job. They’re competing their butts off and it’s making us better.”
The Rams reached the Ravens redzone midway through the second quarter, but incomplete passes forced them to settle for a field goal. Jackson returned to the field and survived a sack, a penalty and a fumble; he made a 35-yard scramble to help running back Mark Ingram II score on a first and one.
On their next possession, the Rams gained yards by air. A false start penalty pushed them out of the Ravens’ redzone and Goff was sacked for a loss of eight yards. Greg Zuerlein stepped up for the Rams again, kicking another successful field goal from 46 yards out.
“We were unable to get going early,” Goff said “I think against a team like that, the margin for error is so small.”
The Ravens continued to dominate in the third quarter by only allowing the Rams one offensive possession in the phase. When the Rams offense was on field, they failed to get a first down.
Jackson sent a six-yard touchdown pass to wideout Willie Snead IV in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, edging Baltimore’s score up to 42. Peters’ pick would ultimately lead Baltimore to a field goal. Although Woods would complete a 38-yard passing play with 1:53 left in the game, Goff would get picked off again two plays later by cornerback Jimmy Smith.
The Rams will travel to play the Arizona Cardinals on December 1 at 1:05pm.
