BALTIMORE — The new year brought the division-clinching win over Cleveland that everyone expected from the Ravens.
No, Baltimore wasn’t about to lose to the woeful and injury-ravaged Browns, who started Bailey Zappe at quarterback and were 20-point underdogs. That was evident when Zappe’s second pass of the game was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins, setting the stage for the eventual 35-10 victory that secured a second straight AFC North championship and the fourth in the last seven seasons for John Harbaugh’s team.
Superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson and stud running back Derrick Henry led another record-setting night for the offense and themselves as the Ravens became the first team in NFL history to eclipse both 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in a single season. Meanwhile, the defense continued its dramatic second-half turnaround and concluded the regular season by allowing NFL lows in yards per game, net passing yards per game, yards per play, and points per game from Week 11 on — pending remaining Week 18 results, of course.
Jackson — already a two-time NFL MVP — just completed the finest regular season of his remarkable career, Henry rushed for over 1,900 yards, and Baltimore had seven other players make the Pro Bowl. That 0-2 start sure feels like a long time ago, doesn’t it?
“It’s really an unbelievable feeling. It’s a credit to the men in this locker room and the organization that clawed and fought all year long,” said tight end Mark Andrews, who caught a touchdown in a franchise-record sixth straight game. “The type of team that we have, we’re excited about this. It’s a huge accomplishment, and we’re looking forward to this next game in the playoffs.”
But as the Ravens now begin what they hope will be a Super Bowl run to avenge the disappointment of last year, Saturday provided just enough caution about how fragile and fleeting the postseason can be, especially for a No. 3 seed likely to spend much of it playing on the road.
Great health has been one of the 2024 team’s staples, but the Ravens lost Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers to a right knee injury early in the second quarter. And while Harbaugh said the speedy wideout “has a chance to be OK” depending on the results of Sunday’s MRI, the early indications are that Flowers’ status for at least the first round is in doubt.
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That wasn’t what the offense had in mind after an injured Andrews was unable to be much of a factor last January. The silver lining was wide receiver Rashod Bateman stepping up to catch five passes for 76 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s victory, but Baltimore needs a healthy Flowers to be at its best offensively.
The Ravens also committed 10 penalties for 83 yards as flags both stunted some promising drives and gave a depleted Cleveland offense extra opportunities. The Browns may not have been able to take full advantage on Saturday night, but we’ve seen penalties hurt the Ravens throughout the season and those could prove more costly the rest of the way.
Despite missing multiple defensive starters, the Browns produced a 38.9% pressure rate against Jackson, which didn’t speak well for the performance of Baltimore’s offensive line. A weeklong illness limited starting left guard Patrick Mekari to just six snaps, but it wasn’t a particularly impressive showing overall, especially in the first half as Henry was limited to just eight yards on six rushing attempts and the Ravens managed only one offensive touchdown despite great field position on multiple possessions.
Saturday wasn’t Jackson’s sharpest passing day as he completed just 50% of his throws, but his receivers also let him down with a few drops.
“If you talk to our guys, I think they will tell you we can be so much better,” Harbaugh said. “We can play so much better. We weren’t very clean in this game. We had too many penalties. Operationally, we weren’t probably as great as we wanted to be.
“We can be so much better, but we’re playing good football. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. We need to keep getting better.”
The Ravens didn’t need to be great against the Browns, of course.
But they’ll need to be from this point forward.
The real season starts now.
