BALTIMORE — The Detroit Lions used a revitalized pass rush and a punishing rushing attack to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 38-30 at M&T Bank Stadium on Monday night.
David Montgomery ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions (2-1), who rushed for 224 yards. Detroit also had two touchdown drives of 96 or more yards and sacked Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson seven times.
Jackson threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns for the Ravens (1-2), who suffered another costly fumble by veteran running back Derrick Henry.
Here are the most important things to know from Monday night for both teams:
David Montgomery ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns to help the Lions to a big road win. Nick Wass/AP
Detroit had never won against the Ravens in Baltimore — until now.
In their four previous trips, most recently in 2023, the Lions had never tasted victory — or come within nine points of it. But that changed Monday, as the Lions offense got off to a quick start, spearheaded by veteran QB Jared Goff, and their playmakers put on a show.
Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Montgomery, along with All-Pro WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, all scored touchdowns. That marked the 10th career game in which they each recorded at least one scrimmage TD, the most such games by any trio of teammates in NFL history, per ESPN Research.
After dropping their Week 1 game at Green Bay, Detroit has now won its last two games in impressive fashion.
Most surprising performance: DE Al-Quadin Muhammad. Hours before kickoff, the Lions placed starting defensive end Marcus Davenport on injured reserve with a chest injury. Muhammad stepped up in a major way against the Ravens with 2.5 sacks, boosting a Detroit pass rush that registered a league-low 19.2% pass rush win rate in the first two weeks. The 30-year-old Muhammad is on his fifth NFL team and in his second season with the Lions after working his way up from the practice squad in 2024.
Trend to watch: The Lions have allowed an opening-drive touchdown in all three games this season under new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, with Henry scoring on a 28-yard rushing touchdown with 5:47 left in the first quarter. Per ESPN Research, this is the first time Detroit has allowed an opening-drive TD in three consecutive games under coach Dan Campbell, dating to 2021. It also marked the first time in the past 25 years that the Lions allowed an opening-drive touchdown in the first three games of a season. The defense regrouped after the opening-drive score, sacking Jackson a career high seven times.
Stat to know: When Montgomery capped off a 98-yard scoring drive with a goal-line touchdown at 5:57 in the second quarter, he and teammate Gibbs had their first historical moment. Gibbs and Montgomery, aka “Sonic & Knuckles,” each recorded a touchdown in the same game for the 11th time, breaking a tie with the Packers’ Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor and the 49ers’ Hugh McElhenny and Joe Perry for the most such games by any running back tandem. — Eric Woodyard
Next game: vs. Cleveland Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Derrick Henry scored an early touchdown, but a late fumble set the Ravens back. AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough
Henry’s uncharacteristic poor ball security cost the Ravens again. Henry fumbled midway through the fourth quarter, which proved to be biggest mistake in the Ravens’ loss to the Lions. He showed his frustration by slamming his helmet into the bench. Henry has lost the ball in the fourth quarter in both of Baltimore’s losses this season. This has been unlike Henry, who had lost two rushing fumbles in the fourth quarter or overtime in his previous nine seasons.
Defensively, the Ravens allowed touchdown drives of 98 and 96 yards to the Lions, but this isn’t the first time Baltimore has given up these types of marathon drives. The last team to allow multiple 95-yard touchdown drives on Monday Night Football was the Ravens, who did so against the Texans in 2010, according to ESPN Research.
Baltimore has a losing record after three games for just the third time in coach John Harbaugh’s 18 seasons as head coach. The Ravens, whose 111 points are the most in the first three games for a team with a losing record in NFL history, now head to play at Kansas City (1-2), where they have never beaten Patrick Mahomes. Since 2008, Baltimore is 0-3 at Arrowhead Stadium, allowing an average of 29 points per game.
Trend to watch: Lamar Jackson’s touchdown passes of 3 yards to wide receiver Rashod Bateman and 14 to tight end Mark Andrews helped the quarterback set a team record. This marked Jackson’s ninth straight game with two or more touchdown passes, which surpasses Vinny Testaverde’s streak of eight in 1996. It’s also the longest active streak of multiple touchdown-pass games in the league.
Most surprising performance: Andrews looked like Jackson’s favorite target again after the slowest start to a season in his eight-year career. Andrews caught six passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. It had been a struggle this season for Andrews, who totaled two receptions for seven yards in the first two games. That slow start followed the playoff loss in Buffalo, where he dropped a late 2-point conversion pass that would have tied the game.
Stat to know: Jackson had little room to scramble and got sacked seven times, the most of his career. Baltimore has lost three of the four games in which Jackson has been sacked at least five times. — Jamison Hensley
Next game: at Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
