Ravens vs. Broncos final recap: Tyler Huntley leads Ravens to victory

Dec 4, 2022 - 9:59 PM

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A Ravens offense desperate to solve their problems couldn’t do so against a superior defense when their starting quarterback was on the field. In the first quarter, Lamar Jackson led the Ravens offense to only 17 yards before suffering a sack to close out the first quarter. He then exited the field to the blue medical tent, and then down to the locker room for more testing as he suffered a knee injury.

While Jackson was being further evaluated, the Ravens inserted backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, who provided a spark for his first full drive and helped to tie up the game 3-3. Before the end of the half, Russell Wilson connected on a 40-yard pass to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and on a tough 3rd & 11 connected with rookie tight end Greg Dulcich for 22-yards. Broncos kicker Brandon McManus broke the tie with his second field goal of the game, 6-3.

In the second half, the Ravens ruled out Jackson for the remainder of the game with a knee injury, leaving Huntley to drag this team from their offensive woes. It didn’t come in the third quarter when Huntley’s underthrow to tight end Mark Andrews ended up in the arms of Denver safety Justin Simmons, and turned into a field goal for McManus. Denver doubled their lead, 9-3.

Entering the fourth quarter, Huntley and the offense were moving along and nearing the red zone. But a peculiar trick play call that looked doomed-from-the-start ended with wide receiver James Proche throwing to running back Kenyan Drake in triple coverage, and the ball was promptly intercepted.

Then, in the fourth quarter, after battling for 12 minutes back and forth with punts, Huntley and the offense had one final opportunity to make good. It started with an Alex Singleton personal foul on Andrews for 15 yards. Then, a pass interference penalty drawn by Andrews gained 17. Those gifts from the defense helped put the Ravens into the red zone on 3rd & 3, where Drake gained a yard. On 4th & 2, after multiple conversions were attempted by giving jet sweeps to Devin Duvernay, Huntley faked the sweep to Duvernay, kept it himself and found the first down marker. A play later, Huntley baited the corner to jump the short throw to Drake, which free’d Drake to wheel out for a 13-yard reception down to the 2-yard line. A play later, Huntley sprinted up the middle for the games’ lone touchdown, where Justin Tucker put the Ravens up by one, 10-9.

With 23 seconds, the Broncos let Russ cook with a 16-yard completion to Jeudy, followed by two scrambles for 21 yards. With two seconds remaining, McManus swung the leg on a 63-yard attempt, but into the end zone multiple yards short.