Following back-to-back road games, the 4-2 Bucs are set to return home to Raymond James Stadium for back-to-back home games in Weeks 7 and 8. The first of those two games comes in primetime, as Tampa Bay welcomes in the 4-2 Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football.

At 4-2, the Bucs are tied for the best record in the NFC South, though the Falcons currently hold the tiebreaker and sit atop the division at 4-2 and with a 3-0 divisional record that includes a win over Tampa Bay in Week 5. The two sides will meet again in Week 8, but first things first. The Ravens are rightfully considered to be among the best teams in the NFL so far this season, and this primetime matchup promises to be a tough challenge for Todd Bowles and Co.

It should also be an emotionally charged atmosphere at Raymond James Stadium. Although the Tampa Bay Lightning will have hosted the first two sporting events following Hurricane Milton’s impact on the area last week, Monday is a chance for the Bucs to represent the resilience of the Tampa Bay area. It’s also an opportunity for Buccaneer fans to come back together for some normalcy amid what has been a tragic time for so many. And of course, you can expect a whole lot of gratitude to be on display throughout the night for those who have been such a big help to the community in recent weeks.

Tampa Bay, this win was for you ♥️

Proud to present the @CityofTampa & Florida law enforcement with a special game ball for the courage displayed in our community’s recovery efforts. pic.twitter.com/IlHtVkPJiS

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 15, 2024

As for the matchup between the Bucs and Ravens itself? Well, let’s get into it.

The Last Time…

Ex-Bucs ILB Devin White and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo by: USA Today

Tampa Bay and Baltimore’s last regular season meeting also came in primetime at Raymond James Stadium. The two teams met on Thursday Night Football in 2022, and it didn’t go the Bucs’ way. Both offenses were slow out of the gates, with the Ravens initially taking a 3-0 lead before a Leonard Fournette touchdown run and a Ryan Succop field goal swung things in favor of the home team.

But after a scoreless second quarter for both sides, the Ravens won the third quarter 14-0. Lamar Jackson threw touchdown passes to Kenyan Drake and Isaiah Likely, giving the visitors a 17-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter. As much as the Bucs were in it, they just couldn’t fight all the way back. After they settled for a field goal to get within 17-13, the Ravens scored again to go up two scores with 6:55 to go.

Succop and Justin Tucker traded field goals and even though Brady connected with Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown with 49 seconds to go, the 27-22 win for the Ravens looked closer than it probably should have.

Brady was 26-of-44 for 325 yards and a touchdown in the game, while Jackson finished 27-of-38 for 238 yards and two touchdowns while running nine times for an additional 43 yards. Tampa Bay as an entire offense only ran for 44 yards on 15 carries in the loss.

Baltimore holds a 5-2 advantage over Tampa Bay in the all-time series. The Bucs come into this game 14-13 all-time in Monday games, and that includes two wins in their last three since 2021.

How The Bucs And Ravens Are Trending

Bucs RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs had 10 long days to think about their late collapse at Atlanta in Week 5, and by the time a chance at redemption came around, they were ready to go.

Despite squandering a 17-0 lead and trailing 27-24 at halftime, Tampa Bay outscored New Orleans 27-0 in the second half and won 51-27 to get to 4-2 on the year. It also evened the team’s record in NFC South play to 1-1. Baker Mayfield threw four touchdowns, Chris Godwin had another big game, the run game came alive to the tune of 277 yards and the defense tallied five sacks and three turnovers. That’s not a bad day’s work.

The Bucs also got healthier in Week 6, getting right tackle Luke Goedeke, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. back. Getting Goedeke back completes the Tampa Bay offensive line in a big way, while adding Kancey and Winfield back into the mix fortifies Todd Bowles’ defense. Having Kancey alongside Vita Vea again is massive for the front, while Bowles getting Winfield – his ultimate chess piece – back is another major plus.

Tampa Bay is currently in the midst of its toughest stretch of the season. The team has started this seven-game stretch against the Eagles, Falcons, Saints, Ravens, Falcons, Chiefs and 49ers with wins in two of its first three games, and if it can find a way to split the next four (Baltimore and Atlanta at home, Kansas City on the road, San Francisco at home), it would finish that stretch a respectable 4-3. Splitting these next four would also mean the Bucs hitting their bye week at 6-4, which would set them up well with their schedule softening up a bit after the bye.

The Ravens are back on track after their 0-2 start, having won four straight entering Monday night. After narrow losses to the Chiefs (27-20 and by a literal foot) and Raiders (26-23), they’ve won four straight. First came a 28-25 win over the Cowboys on the road and a 35-10 domination of the Bills on Sunday Night Football, then they picked up a 41-38 overtime road victory over the Bengals in Week 5 before beating the red-hot Commanders 30-23 in Week 6.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo by: USA Today

Lamar Jackson has continued to play at an MVP level so far this season, having thrown for 1,529 yards and 10 touchdowns to two interceptions to go with 403 yards and another two touchdowns on the ground. He has weapons like Zay Flowers (401 yards, one touchdown) and Isaiah Likely (207 yards, three touchdowns) at his disposal, and that’s without even considering the fact that Mark Andrews (186 yards, one touchdown) has yet to really get going.

There’s also a new dominant force on the Ravens offense, of course. That’s running back Derrick Henry, who signed with Baltimore this offseason and is off to an insane start in the team’s first six games. He has 704 yards and eight touchdowns on 119 carries, averaging 5.9 yards per attempt. Henry is the NFL’s leader in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, plus he owns the longest run of the season – an 87-yard touchdown run against Buffalo.

On defense, the Ravens are at two different extremes against the run and the pass. They have the league’s best run defense by far, as they’re giving up just 59 yards per game on the ground. The next-best average per game is the Vikings at 67.2, then it jumps up to the Lions at 83.2. Teams just can’t run on Baltimore. But what they can do against this Ravens defense is throw the ball, as John Harbaugh’s team is giving up 275.7 yards per game through the air. That’s good for second-worst in the NFL.

Here’s how the Bucs and Ravens stack up heading into Week 7:

Bucs Offense: T-2nd in scoring offense (29.7 PPG), 9th in total offense (367.2 yards per game), 11th in passing offense (230.3 yards per game), 8th in rushing offense (136.8 yards per game)

Ravens Offense: 4th in scoring offense (29.5 PPG), 1st in total offense (453.7 yards per game), 8th in passing offense (248.3 yards per game), 1st in rushing offense (205.3 yards per game)

Bucs Defense: T-19th in scoring defense (23.5 points allowed per game), 26th in total defense (365.7 yards allowed per game), 28th in passing defense (252.3 yards allowed per game), T-11th in rushing defense (113.3 yards allowed per game)

Ravens Defense: 24th in scoring defense (24.8 points allowed per game), 16th in total defense (334.7 yards allowed per game), 31st in passing defense (275.7 yards allowed per game), 1st in rushing defense (59.0 yards allowed per game)

As of Thursday night, the Ravens were 3.5-point road favorites, with the Over/Under set at 49.5 (per BetUS).

What Might Decide This Bucs-Ravens Matchup?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Considering how good the Ravens are against the run, it’d be pretty foolish to believe the Bucs can ride another 277-yard rushing performance to a win in this game. Because of that, Tampa Bay will likely need Baker Mayfield to be at his best in this one. Mayfield threw more interceptions in the first half of last week’s win over the Saints than he had in the previous five games, though in fairness, two weren’t exactly his fault. Mayfield needs to be accurate and in command of the offense. He can’t fall victim to the happy feet that he’s proven to have on occasion. Instead, he needs to be calm and confident Baker Mayfield.

Part of being calm and confident Baker Mayfield, of course, hinges on the Bucs receiving corps stepping up and producing at a high level. Chris Godwin can be expected to continue leading the way, but Tampa Bay needs more from Mike Evans. The problem is, Evans is a little banged up right now and his level of effectiveness (and maybe even his game status) is in question. It would be helpful for Jalen McMillan to be the type of player he was throughout training camp rather than the one who has struggled to take off through the first six weeks, and some combination of Sterling Shepard, Cade Otton and Rachaad White will need to come up big in the pass game too.

As much as this game might lie on Mayfield’s shoulders because of Baltimore’s stingy run defense, Tampa Bay can’t afford to completely abandon the run and just give it up from the jump. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen preaches balance, and even finding an inkling of balance could go a long way on Monday night. Then again, it’s important for Coen to refrain from being overly stubborn about running the ball. If it’s going nowhere, there’s no sense in wasting plays.

Ravens WR Zay Flowers – Photo by: USA Today

For the Bucs defense, it’s all about stopping Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson from controlling things on the ground. Baltimore has the best rushing offense in the league, and that’s a major reason why it has the fourth-best time of possession average in the league. If the Ravens can keep picking up first downs with chunk runs, it’ll not only wear down the Bucs defense but also keep Mayfield and the high-scoring Tampa Bay offense on the sideline. Part of the problem in Tampa Bay’s loss to Baltimore in 2022 was the fact that Baltimore held possession for 38:23 out of 60 minutes.

If the Ravens are stringing together long drives and ending those drives with touchdowns, it could be a long night for the Bucs. but if Todd Bowles‘ defense gets back to its roots and finds a way to slow down the potent combination of Henry and Jackson, it changes the flow of the game a bit. Granted, Jackson can still win with his arm and has plenty of weapons to work with (namely Zay Flowers, Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews). But keeping the Ravens from running for 200+ yards would be a big help for a lot of reasons.

Defensively for Baltimore, it’s all about avoiding disaster through the air. As much as this game might be on Mayfield’s shoulders, Tampa Bay may very well be fine with that considering the Ravens’ struggles against the pass this season. On the other side of the spectrum from their top-ranked run defense, they’re 31st against the pass. Some semblance of improvement there and a continued dominance against the run would drastically swing this one in favor of the visiting team.

Key Players To Watch

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s hard not to go with Chris Godwin here, isn’t it? In a contract year, Godwin is doing some of the best work of his career. His 511 receiving yards are third-best in the league. His 43 catches lead the league. The five receiving touchdowns he’s scored (which matches his combined total from 2022 and 2023) are tied for the NFL lead with Mike Evans, George Kittle, Allen Lazard and Ja’Marr Chase. With Evans yet to break out for a 100-yard game this year and considering the injuries he’s dealing with, it’s going to be on Godwin to lead the way in this one once again.

It was nice to have Calijah Kancey back last week, wasn’t it? His pass rushing ability brings a different level of juice to the Tampa Bay defensive line, and it does wonders for Vita Vea as well. But the knock on Kancey has long been his ability to stop the run. Some of it is overblown (such as his PFF run defense grades being in the 20s), but it’s true that he’s better as a rusher than he is as a run stopper. Well, he and Vea are going to have to be up to the task against the run this week – perhaps more so than any other week this season.

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As much as Derrick Henry has done for the Baltimore offense this year, this is still Lamar Jackson‘s team. The two-time league MVP can do it through the air and on the ground, and Tampa Bay will have to do its best to not only get after him when he drops back, but contain him and make sure he doesn’t have any escape lanes. Jackson comes into this game on a great run to start the season, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him in the mix for his third MVP later this year. There’s also the fact that he’s 22-1 as a starter against NFC teams in his career. The Bucs will be looking to make it 22-2, but it’ll be tough.

The Bucs are likely to drop back to pass quite a bit on Monday night, and that’s going to give Kyle Van Noy plenty of opportunities to get after the quarterback. That’s something he’s done well this season, as he leads the Ravens with six sacks. The next-closest behind him are Odafe Oweh, who has 3.5, and Nnamdi Madubuike (2.0). Van Noy is the highest-graded defender for Baltimore so far this year, and Tampa Bay can’t afford to let the veteran pass rusher wreck its aerial attack.

Bucs vs. Ravens Game Information

When: Monday, October 21
Where: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN – Joe Buck (Play by Play), Troy Aikman (Analyst), Lisa Salters (Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramática (Reporter)