For the second straight season, the Baltimore Ravens are kings of the AFC North.
Baltimore defeated a burnt out and depleted Cleveland Browns team 35-10 on Saturday to earn the division crown and claim the AFC’s No. 3 seed, guaranteeing them a home playoff game next week.
Who the opponent will be remains undetermined and, after the Cincinnati Bengals’ narrow win over the Pittsburgh Steelers later Saturday, depends on the Los Angeles Chargers’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders. If the Chargers win Sunday, Pittsburgh and Baltimore would face off for a third time in an AFC North duel. Otherwise, ‘Harbaugh Bowl Pt. 4’ would take place in the wild-card round in Baltimore.
The Ravens started three of their first four drives in Cleveland territory but managed seven points in what was an ugly first half for the offense. Quarterback Lamar Jackson, putting the finishing touches on his MVP candidacy, was inefficient through the air (16-for-32, 217 yards, two touchdowns) despite success on the ground (nine rushes for 63 yards).
The two-time MVP did surpass the 4,000-yard passing mark and finished the regular season with 915 rushing yards, his most since the 2020 season.
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Jackson and tight end Mark Andrews connected for a touchdown for the sixth straight game.
The Browns started Bailey Zappe at quarterback, the fourth signal-caller the team used this season (Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson). Thompson-Robinson took over for a few series before Zappe came in for the remainder of the game.
No matter who was behind center, the Ravens defense feasted. Rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins opened the scoring with a pick-six, his first career interception.
Cleveland’s defense, which battled without several key contributors, bottled up Ravens running back Derrick Henry for the first half before ‘King Henry’ – celebrating his 31st birthday Saturday – broke loose in the second half, with 130 of his 138 rushing yards coming after halftime in traditional Henry fashion. His 43-yard touchdown with 3:04 left iced the game.
The victory did not come without losses for the Ravens. Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who had an early third-down drop, missed most of the game with a knee injury. Safety Kyle Hamilton was banged up at the start of the second half but returned.
Cleveland scored its lone touchdown of the game on a 16-yard completion from Zappe to tight end Jordan Akins with 11:33 to go in the game and cut the deficit to 11.
