Jackson and Ravens wrap up AFC North title with 35-10 beatdown of Cleveland
Lamar Jackson threw two touchdown passes and the Baltimore Ravens won the AFC North for the second straight season, clinching the division with a 35-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.
The Ravens (12-5) open the playoffs at home against the Los Angeles Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore trailed the Steelers in the division by two games before winning their last four to finish on top.
Cleveland (3-14) capped a terrible season with six straight losses. Both Bailey Zappe and Dorian Thompson-Robinson took shots at the quarterback in the finale. Neither could move the ball much, and Zappe had an interception returned 26 yards for a touchdown from rookie Nate Wiggins for the game’s first points.
The biggest concern coming out of this game for the Ravens was the health of Pro Bowl receiver Zay Flowers, who left in the second quarter with a right knee injury.
Jackson threw TD passes to Mark Andrews in the second quarter and Rashod Bateman in the third, capping off a spectacular statistical season that might be good enough to earn him a third MVP award. Jackson finished the season with 4,172 yards passing, 41 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He became the first quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards with 40 TD passes and four or fewer interceptions.
Jackson also finished the season with 915 yards rushing, becoming the first to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for at least 800 yards. His passer rating of 119.6 wasn’t enough to break Aaron Rodgers’ season record of 122.5.
Zappe threw for 170 yards with two interceptions. His 16-yard scoring pass to Jordan Akins made it 21-10 in the fourth, but the Ravens answered with a 70-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry.
Henry, who turned 31 Saturday, added a 43-yard scoring run late in the fourth. He finished the season with 1,921 yards rushing and a franchise record 16 touchdowns on the ground.
Cleveland has now gone 28 straight games without allowing a 300-yard passer. Jackson finished 16 of 32 for 217 yards.