Week 1 Game Recap: Baltimore Ravens 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0

What you need to know

Baltimore Ravens

In his first regular season game for the Ravens, QB Steve McNair showed why the Ravens signed him this off-season to be their starting quarterback. The veteran signal caller was unspectacular, but solid in his debut, completing 17 of 27 passes for 181 yards. He led the club 80 yards on the opening drive, which was capped off with a Jamal Lewis touchdown run. McNair targeted former teammate WR Derrick Mason seven times, connecting four times for 50 yards.

TE Todd Heap had a solid game with five catches for 46 yards, and was McNair’s favorite target with nine balls thrown his way. Baltimore’s TE2, Daniel Wilcox, was targeted four times, finishing with three receptions for 52 yards, including a fourth quarter touchdown from four yards out.

RB Jamal Lewis ran hard all day, and finished with 78 yards rushing on 18 attempts and scored from four yards out on the opening drive. Lewis was charged with a fumble for the game, but it came on an outside run and the ball was lost out of bounds and the Ravens retained possession.

The Baltimore defense showed how talented they are as a unit when healthy. With LB Ray Lewis and DB Ed Reed both healthy, the Ravens’ defense ate the Buccaneers alive. They finished with three interceptions, three sacks and held the Buccaneers to 142 total net yards. DB Chris McAlister returned one of the interceptions 60 yards for a score and rookie DT Haloti Ngata intercepted a tipped pass that set up a Ravens’ field goal.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The performance of QB Chris Simms can be summed up in one word – brutal. Tampa Bay’s youngster was pressured all day by the Ravens’ front seven, and made a few costly bad decisions. He continued to struggle with batted balls at the line of scrimmage, and turned the ball over three times on interceptions, one of which Baltimore returned for a touchdown. Simms finished 17 of 29 for 133 yards, no touchdowns, and a QB rating of 30.5. The end result was Simms watching from the sideline in the fourth quarter as rookie QB Bruce Gradkowski finished out the game for Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay wide receivers also struggled – a result of great play from the Ravens’ defense and the poor decision making of their young quarterback. WR Michael Clayton led the team with seven targets, but he caught only three of those for 34 yards. RB Carnell Williams led the way with five receptions, but those catches only resulted in 25 yards.

Cadillac Williams just could not get going against a stingy and fired up Ravens’ defense. They limited Williams to 22 yards on the ground on only eight carries, shutting the Buccaneers running game down and limiting them to an average of 2.0 yards per carry as a team.

What you ought to know

QB Steve McNair, Pass: 17 - 27 - 181 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0

McNair was steady for the Ravens, leading them on an opening scoring drive of 80 yards that was capped off with a rushing score. He looked to WR Derrick Mason often, early in the game, showing they still have some of the chemistry from their days in Tennessee. McNair targeted TE Todd Heap nine times for the game, the most of any Ravens’ receiver, and showed that he still likes to utilize the TE in the passing game. He looked calm in the pocket, and the offensive line did an admirable job of protecting him against Tampa Bay, limiting them to one sack for the game. His lone touchdown of the game, a four yard strike to TE Daniel Wilcox, came on a floater over a defender, showing the former MVP hasn’t lost his touch. McNair no doubt played the way the Ravens envisioned him to when they signed him this off-season. He did have a fumble for the game following a Tampa Bay sack, but McNair recovered it himself.

RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 18 - 78 - 1

Lewis ran hard and looked like he’s ready to put last season behind him, finishing with 78 yards on 18 carried, including a touchdown from four yards out. He also got the bulk of the carried in the running game for Baltimore, as backups Anderson and Smith finished with only nine carries combined. Lewis was not utilized in the passing game, finishing with zero targets.

RB Mike Anderson, Rush: 7 - 25 - 0

Anderson was used sparingly in the Ravens' rushing attack, running the ball seven times for 25 yards for the game and was not targeted in the passing game.

RB Musa Smith, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Smith finished with six yards rushing on two carries, but looked healthy in his first game back from injury.

WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 4 - 50 - 0 (7 targets)

Mason and McNair showed they still have chemistry, connecting four times for 50 yards. Mason got a lot of looks early in the game, and was targeted seven times total. All four of his catches resulted in first downs.

WR Mark Clayton, Rush: 1 - -8 - 0, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (4 targets)

Clayton was targeted four times, finishing with two receptions for 18 yards. He did have one rushing attempt, losing eight yards on an end around.

WR Demetrius Williams, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets)

Williams was not a big factor, finishing with nine yards on his only catch, and target, of the game.

TE Todd Heap, Rec: 5 - 46 - 0 (9 targets)

Heap led the club in targets with nine for the game, and finished with five receptions for 46 yards. One of his catches came in the red zone, but he was taken down at the two yard line.

TE Daniel Wilcox, Rec: 3 - 52 - 1 (4 targets)

Wilcox was thrown to fourth times, catching three balls for 52 yards, including a fourth quarter touchdown from four yards out.

PK Matt Stover 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points

Stover connected on field goals from 20 and 42 yards out, and made good on all three of his extra point attempts.

BAL Rush Defense

The Baltimore rush defense shut down the Tampa Bay rushing attack completely, holding them to 26 yards on 13 attempts, for a 2.0 yard per carry average. They were able to keep Carnell Williams at bay, and looked like they wanted to force QB Chris Simms to beat them through the air. This talented unit was definitely on top of their game, taking advantage of a banged up Tampa Bay offensive line to completely dominate the line of scrimmage. LB Ray Lewis finished with four combined tackles and one sack, and DL Terrell Suggs finished with five total tackles.

BAL Pass Defense

The Ravens forced three interceptions, all three of which led to Baltimore points. DB Chris McAlister returned a second quarter Simms interception 60 yards for a touchdown and rookie DT Haloti Ngata nearly returned another for a score, eventually running out of bounds inside the Tampa Bay ten yard line, setting up a Matt Stover field goal. DB Ed Reed also had an interception, snatching a fourth quarter Simms pass out of the air that eventually led to McNair’s only touchdown of the game. Baltimore’s defense not only pressured and rattled Simms, but they shutout Tampa WR Joey Galloway, not allowing him to register a catch for the game.

QB Chris Simms, Pass: 17 - 29 - 133 - 0 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0

Simms may have had the toughest outing of his young career, finishing 17 of 29 for 133 yards and three interceptions. A result of constant pressure and stingy play from the Ravens’ defensive backfield, Simms was never able to get into rhythm and seemed rattled right from the start. He also continued to struggle with batted balls at the line of scrimmage, a problem he hasn’t been able to shake yet in his days as a starter. One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown, and another came close to being returned. Simms was replaced in the fourth quarter by rookie Bruce Gradkowski, who finished the game for the Buccaneers but did not have any luck of his own. Simms owners should keep an eye on his playing status for week two.

QB Bruce Gradkowski, Pass: 1 - 5 - 4 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Gradkowski relieved Simms in the fourth quarter and completed one out of five passing attempts for four yards.

RB Cadillac Williams, Rush: 8 - 22 - 0, Rec: 5 - 25 - 0 (6 targets)

Williams struggled behind an ailing offensive line and could not find any running room against the Ravens. He carried the ball only eight times for 22 yards and had a long run of only seven yards for the game. Williams did show improvement from last year in the passing game, catching five passes for 25 yards on six targets.

RB Michael Pittman, Rush: 3 - -1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (3 targets)

Pittman contributed mostly in the return game, returning five kickoffs for 121 yards. He ran the ball three times for negative one yard, and like Cadillac Williams, struggled to get anything going on the ground

RB Mike Alstott, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (3 targets)

Alstott rushed one time for two yards and was mostly a non-factor, as the Buccaneers failed to get the ball in the red zone where he is most effective. He did catch all three balls that were thrown his way for 26 yards.

WR Michael Clayton, Rec: 3 - 34 - 0 (7 targets)

Clayton led Tampa Bay in targets with seven, but finished with only three receptions for 34 yards. He seems to be over his injuries from last year, but was unable to find much room in the open field.

WR Joey Galloway (3 targets)

Galloway was shut down completely by the Ravens’ defensive backfield, failing to catch a pass, and being targeted only three times for the game.

TE Anthony Becht, Rec: 4 - 27 - 0 (6 targets)

Becht was targeted six times for the game, and totaled four receptions for 27 yards. With Simms being under constant pressure, Becht was used mostly as a safety valve.

TE Alex Smith, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (2 targets)

Smith caught both balls thrown to him for 18 yards, but was mostly a non-factor.

PK Matt Bryant 0 - 0 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 0 points

Bryant did not attempt a field goal or extra point for the game, finishing with zero points.

TB Rush Defense

Tampa Bay’s rush defense did not have a bad day, limiting the Ravens to 103 yards on 34 carries and a three yards per carry average. The problem they faced for most of the game was having to defend a short field following turnovers by the offense. LB Derrick Brooks and DB Ronde Barber each finished with seven total tackles.

TB Pass Defense

The Buccaneers held Steve McNair under 200 passing yards, but they were unable to come up with any of the big plays you’re accustomed to seeing from the defense. It seemed like every time McNair needed to make a play, he did. Mason and Heap were able to find soft spots in the Tampa cover two, and the Ravens converted nine first downs via the pass. Tampa Bay gave up one passing score, from four yards out, where Baltimore Daniel Wilcox beat Tampa DB Jermaine Phillips for the short score.