Baltimore Ravens sit out top players in 30-7 loss to Packers in preseason finale

BALTIMORE - And now, the focus turns toward the regular season.

The Baltimore Ravens sat out their top players in their 30-7 loss on Saturday in the preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers.

They start their season on Sept. 5 in Kansas City. The Ravens lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game last season in Baltimore.

The Ravens will finalize their roster on Tuesday, meaning many players had their final game action with the Ravens on Saturday.

Arron Mosby got a strip-sack that resulted in a touchdown and intercepted a pass on consecutive series to help the Packers beat the Ravens as both teams closed the preseason by resting nearly all of their starters.

Ravens center Nick Samac and running back Owen Wright were both carted off the field in the first half. Samac, a rookie seventh-round pick from Michigan State, had been getting some first-team reps in camp while 2023 Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum deals with a neck issue.

With the top players from both teams staying on the sidelines, this final exhibition game was a showcase for players attempting to win jobs. NFL teams are required to cut their rosters to 53 players by Tuesday.

Greg Joseph helped his chances of unseating Anders Carlson as Green Bay's kicker by going 2 of 2 on field-goal attempts with a 36-yarder and a 55-yarder. Carlson was successful from 54 yards in the first quarter, but pushed a 32-yarder wide right in the fourth quarter.

After Carlson struggled as a rookie last season, the Packers brought in Joseph to compete with him. Joseph has played for the Cleveland Browns (2018), Tennessee Titans (2019) and Minnesota Vikings (2021-23).

In the competition to back up Green Bay starting quarterback Jordan Love, Sean Clifford went 6 of 14 for 53 yards with a touchdown while rookie seventh-round pick Michael Pratt was 8 of 12 for 80 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

With reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson resting, Baltimore's Josh Johnson was 5 of 7 for 71 yards with a touchdown pass and rookie sixth-round pick Devin Leary went 6 of 13 for 34 yards with two interceptions and a fumble.

Baltimore did play some potential starters on an offensive line that has undergone plenty of upheaval in the offseason, with Andrew Vorhees at left guard, Daniel Faalele at right guard and Roger Rosengarten at right tackle. The Ravens lost guards Kevin Zeitler to the Detroit Lions and John Simpson to the New York Jets in free agency, and they traded right tackle Morgan Moses to the Jets.

The Ravens also started rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins, a first-round pick who had hurt his shoulder in Baltimore's preseason opener and didn't play against the Atlanta Falcons last week.

But the biggest plays were delivered by guys battling for those final roster spots.

Mosby, whose only three games of NFL experience came with Carolina in 2022, made the biggest play when he sacked Leary and knocked the ball backward. Anthony Johnson Jr. recovered the fumble at the Baltimore 24 — 28 yards behind the line of scrimmage — and raced into the end zone.

On Baltimore's next series, Mosby intercepted Leary's pass.

Green Bay's Kristian Welch had an interception for the second straight week.

Bo Melton and Malik Heath each scored as they try to become part of Green Bay's deep receiving group. Melton's leaping 18-yard catch of Pratt's pass put the Packers ahead for good in the second quarter. Clifford found Heath for a 7-yard score on a fourth-and-4 play in the third quarter.

Baltimore's Tylan Wallace caught Johnson's pass across the middle about 15 yards downfield and turned it into a 48-yard touchdown. Wallace, a 2021 fourth-round pick from Oklahoma State, has caught seven passes for 67 yards over his first three seasons.