Ravens secure AFC North with win over Browns as Lamar Jackson makes history: Key takeaways
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Ravens secure AFC North with win over Browns as Lamar Jackson makes history: Key takeaways

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

By Jeff Zrebiec, Zac Jackson and Cale Clinton

The Baltimore Ravens secured the AFC North title and the conference’s No. 3 seed in the playoffs with a 35-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. The Ravens (12-5) finish their season by establishing themselves as a historically great offense, while the Browns (3-14) secured a top-three pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after acquiring their fourth quarterback in Bailey Zappe Season started.

Lamar Jackson finished the night completing 16 of 32 passes for 217 yards and two passing touchdowns and added 63 rushing yards on nine carries. The MVP candidate had already made history by setting the all-time quarterback rushing record a week earlier. Saturday, however, took Jackson’s lone season into a different stratosphere of dual-threat quarterback play. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 800 yards. Additionally, Jackson finished the season with 41 passing touchdowns and four interceptions, the fewest interceptions by a 40-touchdown quarterback in NFL history.

Jackson wasn’t the only one making history. Baltimore finishes its season as one of the best offensive units of all time. With 7,224 total offensive yards, the Ravens rank third-most all-time, making them one of five teams to surpass the 7,000-yard mark. The Ravens averaged 6.78 yards per play all season, the third-most in NFL history behind the Greatest Show on Turf 2000 Rams and 2018 Chiefs.

Most of it was fueled by a strong rush. Baltimore finished the game with the third-most rushing yards in NFL history, becoming the seventh team to reach 3,000 yards in a single season. It is the third time in the Jackson era that the Ravens have eclipsed 3,000 yards receiving, making them the only franchise to eclipse the total multiple times. Baltimore also finished the game with 5.77 yards per rushing attempt, second-most all-time behind the 1948 San Francisco 49ers and narrowly surpassing Jim Brown’s 1963 Cleveland Browns.

Derrick Henry finished the night with 138 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and another 23 yards on two catches. Henry has 1,921 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns this season, making him the first player with multiple 1,900-yard seasons and the first player with at least 1,500 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in three different seasons.

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Ravens leading receiver Zay Flowers is out with a knee injury against the Browns

Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy also made history on Saturday. His 90 receptions that season tied the Browns’ single-season franchise record, beating Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome (89).

Zay Flowers’ status will be a major storyline

The Ravens’ No. 1 goal was to win the AFC North title and secure the No. 3 seed and play at least one home playoff game. Mission accomplished. The second goal was to come out of the game against the struggling Browns as healthy and fresh as possible. Things got tricky when, at the end of a 12-yard reception in the second quarter, the Ravens’ top wide receiver, Zay Flowers, injured his right knee.

Flowers came out with a noticeable limp, spent a brief stay in the blue medical tent and then retreated to the locker room with the team doctors. There’s no immediate word on the severity of Flowers’ injury, but he’s one of the guys Baltimore could least lose before making the playoffs. Flowers, a first-time Pro Bowl selection and 1,000-yard receiver, is one of Baltimore’s most dynamic playmakers. — Jeff Zrebiec, Baltimore Ravens beat writer

Baltimore needs to play better next week

The Ravens will find out who they play in the first round later Saturday or Sunday afternoon. If the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday or the Los Angeles Chargers lose to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the Ravens will face the Chargers next weekend at M&T Bank Stadium. If the Steelers lose and the Chargers win, the Ravens get the Steelers for round three.

Regardless of who the opponent is, Baltimore will need to be much sharper to advance. They seemed to have peaked at the right time early in this game, but the offense struggled throughout. Jackson wasn’t particularly sharp. It took until the second half for the running game to get going. There were too many drops and pre-snap penalties against a defense decimated by injuries. The opponent will be much tougher and the Ravens will have to be better. — Zrebiec

Cleveland’s cursed quarterback jersey is growing

Zappe was the Browns’ fourth starting quarterback that season and the team’s No. 40 since returning to the league in 1999. Zappe’s predictable early interception was returned by Ravens rookie Nate Wiggins for a touchdown, and although the Browns then returned Zappe for a season with Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Zappe came back and was just okay. He’s not a serious option to go No. 41 next season, and the Browns will soon intensify their search for that player. 2024 was a complete disaster in almost every way, especially because the Deshaun Watson experiment gave the Browns a definitive answer to Watson and their recent roster construction.

Zappe passed for more than 100 yards early in the fourth quarter and placed the ball well on a touchdown to Jordan Akins a few snaps later, but he was overwhelmed. He threw a second interception in the final three minutes and went 16 of 31 for 170 yards. — Zac Jackson, Cleveland Browns beat writer

A quintessential 2024 Browns experience

No one can find fault with the Browns’ defensive performance. And the Browns scored in double figures for the first time since December 8th. But actually, this game was a predictable and necessary end for the Browns in their quest to secure a premium draft position. In three games after benching Jameis Winston, they scored two touchdowns. A rotation of Zappe and Thompson-Robinson had no chance in Baltimore, and everyone knew it. Will the Browns ownership group demand more from their football operations and replace those who created these failed quarterback projects? Now that it’s over, we’ll find out soon.

A good conclusion: Jeudy set a new franchise record with his 90th reception of the season. On the next play, Zappe was intercepted by Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce.

The Browns finished the season with six straight losses, the last five by double digits. They threw interceptions until the bitter end, finishing with a league-high 23 interceptions. — Jackson

Required reading

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

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