For the first time in nearly a decade, the Baltimore Ravens begin the season with two consecutive losses.
And thanks to a surprise win by Gardner Minshew II and the Las Vegas Raiders, another large portion of the Survivor Pool players have been eliminated.
The Raiders erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Ravens 26-23 on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. The Raiders scored 13 straight points to close the game, dropping the Ravens to 0-2 this season, something the team hasn’t experienced since the 2015 season. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn’t lost consecutive games in three years.
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson sank a 38-yard field goal with less than 30 seconds left in the game, helping the Raiders to the win.
More than 29% of Yahoo Sports users selected the Ravens in their Survivor Pool this week, making them one of only two teams with double-digit interest. The Los Angeles Chargers were a close second with just over 27% of users, winning comfortably 26-3 against the Carolina Panthers.
This is the second week in a row that the Survivor Pool favorite has lost. The Cincinnati Bengals’ loss to the New England Patriots last week eliminated around 43% of users in a massive Week 1 upset.
The Raiders and Ravens alternated field goals in a very slow first half on Sunday. It wasn’t until an 8-yard throw from Jackson to Zay Flowers early in the second half that anyone found the end zone. Although that gave the Ravens a 10-point lead, the Raiders answered later in the quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Alexander Mattison.
The Ravens opened the fourth quarter with a nine-play, 76-yard drive capped off with a 3-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry. The Ravens seemed to be in full control and close to clinching the victory after their opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But then the Raiders finally turned it on, scoring 13 straight points thanks to two field goals from Carlson and a 1-yard touchdown pass from Minshew to Davante Adams, a score that tied the game before the two-minute warning.
Jackson completed 21 of 34 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Henry had 84 yards and one touchdown on 18 attempts. Flowers had 91 yards and one touchdown on seven catches.
Minshew completed 30 of 38 passes for 276 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the win for the Raiders, who had lost seven of their last eight road games before Sunday’s game. Zamir White had 24 rushing yards on nine carries and Adams had 110 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine catches. Brock Bowers was right behind him with 98 yards on nine catches. The Raiders are 1-1 after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers last week.
The Ravens will travel to Dallas next weekend to face the Cowboys, who suffered a 44-19 loss on Sunday. If the Ravens can’t win there, they will fall to 0-3 to start the season for the second time in franchise history.
