Roster cutdown deadline looms (Tuesday).
Saturday, August 26, 2023: The period between the end of the NFL preseason and the start of the regular season is fraught with more uncertainty than ever, for one is never sure how to address it. Do you use it as a fan to celebrate the past or look ahead to the future? As an organization, do you cut players based on what you saw on the field during preseason, or do you release prospects that are still unknown quantities because they didn’t get enough reps? As a coaching staff, how do you delicately manage the balance between getting some starters a few plays and possibly risking a costly injury?
All 32 teams will now address the annual numbers game, the annual roster cutdown, whereby all teams must reduce their active rosters from 90 players to 53 before 4 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, August 29.
Those factors were all in play around the NFL this weekend, especially at Tampa’s humid, sticky Raymond James Stadium Saturday night, where two teams that won Super Bowls on that field tangled in only their second-ever preseason meeting. The Ravens ended their first preseason with a blemish in eight years, closing at 1-2 with a 26-20 loss to the host Buccaneers a week after the Washington Commanders snapped their league-record 24-game August win streak.
Tampa Bay played starters on both sides of the ball in the first half, including a former division rival, ex-Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield, but that didn’t stop the Ravens’ defense from recording a three-and-out to start the game. Then Ravens signal-caller Josh Johnson swiftly drove the Ravens 80 yards downfield, completing passes to tight end Charlie Kolar and wideouts Tylan Wallace, James Proche, and LaQuan Treadwell. The latter hauled in a 24-yard scoring toss a mere 3:44 into the game.
In his third stint with the team, Johnson showed great poise in the face of an aggressive Bucs rush, completing five of his first six passes and playing to a perfect 158.3 passer rating through two series, completing six of ten passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
John Harbaugh: Josh did a great job. I thought all our guys did a good job … to go down the field against the (first) defense like that.
Mayfield switched things up on the Bucs’ next drive, going up-tempo and neatly placing a game-tying 11-yard pass to veteran wideout Chris Godwin. Mayfield completed just six short passes in two series and was done for the night.
But, inevitably, the Ravens’ backups did have some low moments against the hosts. David Wells caught a six-yard touchdown pass from backup Kyle Trask to complete a 94-yard drive as the first quarter ended. Corner Jalyn Armour-Davis unintentionally prolonged the drive by going for interceptions on two straight passes but coming up empty each time.
Quarterback Anthony Brown ripped off a 12-yard run in Buccaneer territory but fumbled the ball away after being tackled. Later, he directed a solid drive with help from backs Melvin Gordon and Owen Wright. But tight end Charlie Kolar had a pass to him broken up at the Bucs’ 5, and Sean Ryan dropped an open end-zone toss.
Justin Tucker salvaged three points with a 39-yard field goal to close the hosts’ lead to 14-10 with just under four minutes before halftime. Chase McLaughlin answered with a 47-yard boot to extend the lead again to seven points. McLaughlin added a 27-yard kick Midway through the third period to make it 20-10.
It wasn’t until that point in the game that the Ravens could convert a third-down play. But once they did, Tucker’s 44-yard field goal kept the Ravens in the same all-white uniforms in which they won Super Bowl 35 on that same field, within striking distance. But McLaughlin fired back from 38 yards early in the fourth.
Wright, who will likely not crack a roster crowded with running backs, nonetheless added a 38-yard run to set up his one-yard touchdown that brought the Ravens to within 23-20 with over nine minutes to go. Tampa Bay countered again, this time by way of McLaughlin’s fourth and longest field goal of the night, a 48-yarder.
Former Maryland receiver Dontay Demus brought the Ravens into Bucs territory with a 48-yard play, but the last-ditch drive stalled when Brown was sacked on fourth down at the 25.
Now, all eyes are on the season opener, the team’s 28th. Kickoff at M&T Bank Stadium is 1p, September 10, vs. the visiting Houston Texans. And based on what we’ve seen this preseason, there are good reasons to be optimistic about 2023.
