FULL BOX SCORE

Eric Edholm’s takeaways:

1. Ravens offense caught fire after two early stall-outs. Lamar Jackson fumbled on the Ravens’ first possession, and they were surprisingly conservative on their second, punting for the first time on fourth-and-1 this season. Maybe it’s because they trusted Jackson to eventually wear down the Giants’ defense. It didn’t take Jackson long, as he completed 13 of 14 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 55 yards in the first half alone as the Ravens built a 21-7 halftime lead. Two of those TDs went to Rashod Bateman for the first multi-TD game of his career, fighting through a knee injury to have his first explosive game in several weeks. Derrick Henry carried the ball only 14 times as some other Ravens got to pad their stats. Devontez Walker scored his first NFL TD (on his first catch), and Nelson Agholor had his first reception in three games. It was a good way for the Ravens to ease back into action after their bye, setting up for the important stretch run with three games versus AFC opponents.
2. DeVito ruled out with concussion as Giants pivot at QB again. The Giants have now pivoted to their fourth quarterback this season after losing Tommy DeVito on Sunday. He was taken off the field late in the first half after a few big hits and was replaced by Tim Boyle, who was just signed off the practice squad this weekend and has been with the team about a month. It’s not exactly clear where DeVito suffered the concussion, but he was sacked on his second-to-last play before coming out and took a big hit from Justin Madubuike a few plays before. Boyle handled his business like a pro, especially considering how little work he likely has had with the offense, hitting Malik Nabers for the rookie’s first TD in eight games. But it was another miserable game overall for the Giants, who last won in early October – nine straight losses overall – and dropped to 0-8 at home. There was only so much Brian Daboll and the coaches could do after so much attrition at the position, with the Giants’ offense in no shape to lift the backup quarterbacks.
3. Ravens penalties once again were an issue. The Ravens entered Week 15 as the NFL’s most penalized team, and they did their best to try to maintain that mantle. Baltimore was flagged 12 times for 112 yards Sunday, which marred an otherwise dominant showing against the feeble Giants. The flurry started with four defensive penalties on a single defensive drive, giving the Giants 41 of their 80 yards and their first touchdown. That made it a 14-7 game with just over two minutes left in the first half, with the Giants getting the ball first in the second half. Had the Ravens not scored on their last possession of the first half, this would have been a bigger deal. The game was out of hand when most of the second-half defensive flags fell, but it was a continued annoyance of a season-long trend. The Ravens also have been far more penalty prone on the road, bringing their total to 74 in eight games. That’s more than nine flags per game, and the Ravens are slated to open the postseason on the road as things stand right now. 

Next Gen Stats Insight for Ravens-Giants (via NFL Pro): Lamar Jackson was at his best against the Giants versus zone coverage, completing 17 of 19 attempts for 243 yards and a career-high four touchdowns against zone (+19.9% CPOE). Jackson was also productive on dropbacks over 2.5 seconds, completing 14 of 18 attempts for 236 yards and all five touchdowns (+10.1% CPOE), the most passing touchdowns on such attempts in a game this season. Jackson has now recorded a 119.5 passer rating against zone coverage and 119.1 on pass attempts over 2.5 seconds this season, both the highest marks in the NFL entering the Week 15 afternoon slate.

NFL Research: Lamar Jackson recorded his sixth career five-TD, zero-INT game, moving into third place all time. The only quarterbacks with more such games are Tom Brady and Drew Brees, with eight apiece.