Detroit Dominates, Ravens Disappoint on Monday Night

September 23rd, 2025

was prime time at M&T Bank Stadium, with the world watching as two of the top offenses from last season squared off in an early-season showdown.

The game started fast, just as expected. Jahmyr Gibbs opened with a touchdown drive for Detroit, and the Ravens responded immediately with a touchdown from Derrick Henry. 

But after that, the Ravens' struggles — on both the offensive line and defense — began to show.

While the final score was 38–30, it wasn’t nearly that close.

 Detroit dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Baltimore gave up 224 rushing yards, their highest total allowed at home since 2001.

 On defense, Detroit tallied seven sacks on Lamar Jackson — an unacceptable number for a team with playoff aspirations. 

Derrick Henry started strong with 34 rushing yards in the first quarter, but finished with just 50 yards on 12 carries, also losing a fumble — his third in as many games. 

For context, Henry fumbled just three times total across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Ravens were missing two Pro Bowl edge rushers — Kyle Van Noy and Justin Madubuike — and it showed. 

Baltimore’s defense surrendered over 450 total yards, including two 90+ yard touchdown drives, one of which lasted nearly 11 minutes. Both David Montgomery and Gibbs scored twice on the ground.

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Ravens Review

Lamar Jackson had a solid game statistically, finishing 21-of-28 for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was great to see Mark Andrews more involved after two quiet weeks — he hauled in 5 catches for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

On the other hand, Zay Flowers was mostly invisible, catching just 2 passes for 13 yards.

But the real concern is the run game.

After rushing for just 27 yards last week and 50 this week, something has to change. Todd Monken has to figure this out. 

We have a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the backfield. Are the fumbles a problem? Yes. But you’re not benching Derrick Henry for Justice Hill.

 No disrespect to Hill, but Henry has only 23 carries over the past two games — that’s not enough. That’s the number he should be getting in one game.

Yes, he's 31. Yes, the season is long. But this is a run-first football team, and having a quarterback like Lamar Jackson in a run-dominant offense should make them even more dangerous.

Getting sacked seven times is a major problem. The receivers couldn’t separate, and Detroit clearly had a plan for Lamar’s scrambling — and it worked.

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Defense or Swiss Cheese?

I’ve never seen a Ravens defense get run on like this. Two 90+ yard drives. 

We couldn’t get off the field on third down. Amon-Ra St. Brown had a night — he should’ve been wearing a chef’s hat the way he cooked our secondary.

Injuries are part of the story — we’re missing key guys on the defensive line and in the secondary — but that doesn’t excuse a performance like this.

Detroit did whatever they wanted on the ground.

For a moment, I thought Ben Johnson quit the Bears and came back to call plays for Detroit.

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Should Ravens Fans Panic?

Not yet.

But if Kansas City’s struggling offense lights us up next week? Start to worry.

If we go three weeks in a row without establishing the run game? Panic.

If we’re 1–3 heading into Week 5? Yes, it’s time to panic.

Next week’s game is starting to look like a must-win.

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Stats & Player of the Game

Lamar Jackson: 21/28, 288 yards, 3 TDs

Mark Andrews: 6 receptions, 91 yards, 2 TDs

Rashod Bateman: 5 receptions, 63 yards, 1 TD

Derrick Henry: 12 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble

Player of the Game: Mark Andrews

After being a non-factor through the first two weeks, Andrews finally made his presence known. Since that costly drop in Buffalo last year, he’s been relatively quiet — but it was great to see him get going again.

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Next Up:

The Ravens head to Arrowhead Stadium next week to face the 1–2 Chiefs at 4:25 PM EST on CBS.

By : Ronnie Kron