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Lions unable to overcome Baltimore Ravens 44-20

Posted at 4:09 PM, Dec 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-03 16:09:10-05

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Detroit Lions fell behind the Baltimore Ravens 20-0 and never recovered en route to a 44-20 setback in a battle of 6-5 squads at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Ravens entered the game as 2.5-point favorites over the Lions.

On Sunday, Detroit and Baltimore traded possessions until Justin Tucker’s 38-yard field goal with 5:57 to go in the opening period gave the Ravens a 3-0 edge. That score stood until the initial break.

Baltimore tacked on its first touchdown with 11:52 remaining in the first half when quarterback Joe Flacco hit tight end Benjamin Watson with a 1-yard scoring strike to put the Ravens up 10-0.

Soon thereafter, Lions signal-caller Matthew Stafford fumbled the ball away and Baltimore was soon up 17-0 after Flacco connected with rookie fullback Patrick Ricard for a 3-yard touchdown with 6:54 left until intermission.

The Ravens then went ahead 20-0 when Tucker booted a 46-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

The Lions came right out of the locker room, drove and scored on a 4-yard run by Theo Riddick to close to within 20-7 at the 12:11 juncture of the third period.

Detroit then trimmed the margin to 20-13, Baltimore scored to take control 27-13 and the Lions came right back to slice the bulge to 27-20 in the final frame. Another Tucker field goal set the deficit at 30-20 with 6:54 to go.

Stafford suffered a hand injury during the finale and left the game for good. He was replaced by former Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock.

The Ravens got on the board again for a 37-20 advantage with exactly 4:00 showing on the clock.

Rudock then threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to set the gap at 44-20 with 2:26 remaining. That also wound up being the final score.

The Lions are now 6-6 going into a trip to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday afternoon.

The Ravens now stand 7-5 entering a road game with the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday night at Heinz Field.

EARLIER STORY:

http://fox17online.com/2017/12/03/lions-trail-baltimore-ravens-20-0-at-halftime/