With the Ravens winning their third straight to move into sole possession of first place in the AFC North with a 31-2 blowout at Houston on Wednesday, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Christmas showcased the difference between contenders and pretenders as the Ravens and Kansas City dominated on the road and Houston and Pittsburgh looked like teams that’d be fortunate to win a playoff game. The Chiefs suddenly playing their best football of the season is unnerving for the AFC, however.
2. Since finishing sixth in the NFL with 1,206 rushing yards in his first full season as a starter, Lamar Jackson breaking Michael Vick’s career quarterback rushing record felt inevitable with even decent health. It’s fitting the record came on a day that included Jackson’s longest run in over two years.
3. Seven weeks after referring to his side of the ball as “little bros” being carried by Jackson and the offense, Marlon Humphrey said the defense has “come full circle” after blanking the Houston offense and being a safety away from Baltimore’s first overall shutout since 2018. Quite the turnaround.
4. Kyle Hamilton was no stranger to playing deep safety, but the move reminds of times Marshal Yanda shifted to right tackle out of necessity. Citing only that change is the warm-fuzzy version of the turnaround, however. Benching and deactivating one of your highest-paid players requires some uncomfortable conversations all around.
5. Of course, that’s easier to do when Marcus Williams’ replacement, Ar’Darius Washington, has graded 11th out of 95 qualified safeties by Pro Football Focus. His fourth-down hit for the goal-line stand was the latest example of Washington playing much bigger than his 5-foot-8, 180-pound frame.
6. How do you set the early tone playing on the road on a short week? By rushing for more than 100 yards in the opening quarter. Derrick Henry and the Ravens imposed their will as he set a single-season franchise record with his 16th total touchdown scored.
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7. Taking nothing away from Baltimore’s defense, C.J. Stroud was awful as he squandered several opportunities through the air to try to make this game more competitive. After an impressive rookie year, Stroud looked like he might become one of the AFC’s top-shelf quarterbacks, but 2024 has been a disappointment.
8. Jackson’s 67-yard completion to Mark Andrews started out looking like it’d be a sack to set up third-and-long. Instead, Jackson escaped to hit Andrews, who used a stiff arm to lumber inside the 15. Baltimore scored two plays later. Even when you’ve “stopped” Jackson by design, you often haven’t.
9. What was DeMeco Ryans’ response to that 17-2 deficit on the ensuing drive? Punting on fourth-and-2 from the Baltimore 43 with 1:18 left in the half — after he’d gone for two fourth downs on the previous drive. From there, Houston could have just gone home after watching Beyoncé’s halftime.
10. Since the bye, Justin Tucker has connected on all three field goals — two from over 50 yards — and made all 13 extra points. There’s no clearcut signal that he’s “fixed” beyond continuing to make kicks, especially in high-leverage spots that haven’t really been there these last few games.
11. Jackson is 45 passing yards away from his first 4,000-yard season. He’s a touchdown pass shy of 40 and a final interception-free game from an absurd 10-to-1 ratio. The 27-year-old currently sports the second-best passer rating in a season in NFL history. Winning a Super Bowl is all that remains.
12. That goal has come into sharper focus with Baltimore winning three in a row and needing only to beat Cleveland to secure a first-round home playoff game. The Ravens will still need to win on the road in January, but expecting to win three straight away games isn’t very realistic.
