Raiders lose to Ravens, dominated again in second half

Even on Thanksgiving weekend, the Oakland Raiders didn't go back for seconds. Continuing a season-long trend, the Baltimore Ravens outscored the Raiders, 21-7, in the second half on Sunday and came away with a 34-17 victory at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, winning two straight games for the first time since September. "They took over the game (in the second half)," Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said after his team lost for the sixth time in seven games. "Credit to them." Oakland (2-9) has been outscored, 181-84, in the last two quarters this season, or an average of 16.4 points to 7.6, the worst such mark in the NFL. The Raiders outscored the Cleveland Browns, 24-14, in the first half and won that game in overtime, and had a 9-7 margin over the Arizona Cardinals at intermission last week while breaking a five-game losing streak, but have been outscored in the second half in each of their nine defeats. Oakland has been ahead at halftime four times this season and lost each time. The Ravens (6-5) held a 13-10 lead at halftime, thanks in part to a 70-yard put return for a touchdown by Cyrus Jones, and took over the game with touchdowns drives of 75 and 71 yards to start the second half. Baltimore did it by switching from a balanced attack in the first half to a ground game that wore down the Raiders. The Ravens ran the ball on 12 of their 13 plays on the first drive of the second half and 12 of 17 plays during their second. Rookie running back Gus Edwards rushed for 118 yards on 23 carries in the game, while rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson added 71 yards on 11 carries, which helped Baltimore keep the ball for 16 of the first 18-and-a-half minutes after halftime. The Ravens finished with 242 yards rushing. "Credit the young quarterback and credit the coaching staff for making some great adjustments," Gruden said. "And modifying the offense to suit the kid. ... They didn't make it real complicated. You have to stop the inside run or you have no chance to stop everything else. It's disappointing." While Jackson threw two first-half interceptions that led to 10 Raiders points, he also completed 14 of 25 passes for 178 yards, including a 74-yard pass to tight end Mark Andrews that set up a field goal. Jackson also ran five yards for a touchdown that gave the Ravens a 20-10 lead early in the third quarter and added an eight-yard scoring pass to ex-Raider Michael Crabtree to make it 27-17 with 11:16 left in the game. By comparison, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 16 of 34 passes for 195 yards and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jared Cook with 5:09 left in the third quarter, and didn't throw an interception. However, Carr also overthrew some passes, his receivers dropped a few and the Raiders had two long gains on pass plays were nullified by penalties. "It's frustrating to have those big plays called back by penalties," said Carr, who sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter, but returned to the game after having it taped even though the Ravens were out of reach. "We just have to execute, everybody, and I know I have to play better. We have to improve. Just go out and keep competing. That's all we can do. " ... As soon as (the injury) happened, you grab it because it's painful and you try to stand up and it's not good. ... I had to get ready (to go back in) as fast as I could. I told the trainer to hurry up and tape it so I could finish with my teammates. "It's important because I want my teammates to know that, if I can possibly stand up, I'm going to finish with them. That's the case in good times or bad. We do this together." Carr received solid protection for much to the game, but had to leave the field briefly after being hit hard late in the first half, before the Raiders' pass blocking broke down late in the game. Ravens linebacker Matt Judon sacked Carr on three consecutive plays and he lost the ball on one, with fellow linebacker Terrell Suggs scooping up the loose ball running 43 yards for the first touchdown return on a fumble in his 16-year NFL career. Said Suggs: "That was a good way to close out the game." That's something these Raiders have yet to learn.