The Baltimore Ravens clinched the AFC North tonight with a 35-10 home win over the hapless Cleveland Browns. It was not a pretty game by any stretch until the fourth quarter, but the Ravens did enough to lock up the AFC’s No. 3 seed. Baltimore’s offense, the strength of their team this season, struggled to gain much traction against a pesky Cleveland Browns defense for much of the game. Head Coach John Harbaugh ended up playing his starters for all but one drive, something he presumably did not plan on doing entering the day.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson had one of his worst games tonight going 16-of-32 for 217 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns. Running Back Derrick Henry came alive late with two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 138 yards on the ground.
Baltimore’s win took away some of the intrigue from the upcoming Cincinnati-Bengals-Pittsburgh Steelers game set to kick off later tonight. With a Baltimore loss and a Pittsburgh win, the Steelers would have been able to steal the AFC North in the season’s final week. Will the Baltimore Ravens finally be able to win the AFC this year?
Baltimore Ravens Season Summary
Baltimore has been powered by their offense this season. They led the league in yards per game and were third in points per game. Jackson put together another MVP-caliber season and made history this year. He also finished the regular season with a whopping 45 total touchdowns.
Baltimore’s defense, following a rocky start to the regular season, morphed into one of the league’s best units in the second half of the season. They are 14th in the league in yards allowed per game and 13th in points allowed. Baltimore enters the NFL Playoffs winners of four consecutive contests and their defense has surrendered fewer than 11 points per game over that stretch. That unit is rounding into form at the right time.
Final Thoughts
The pressure on the Baltimore Ravens entering the postseason this year is immense. Jackson in particular has struggled in the playoffs and has had the worst games of his season in the postseason. He will look to exorcise those demons this year.
Given the results of tonight’s and tomorrow’s games, the Baltimore Ravens can face either the Los Angeles Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the NFL Playoffs. The Ravens defeated the Chargers 30-23 on the road in Week 12 and split the season series against the Steelers. Even though the Ravens did not look good for three quarters it is a positive sign they were able to find some answers in the final quarter. Baltimore is in a great position heading into the postseason this year.
