For the second consecutive season, the Baltimore Ravens have ruled the AFC North.
Baltimore defeated a burned-out and depleted Cleveland Browns squad 35-10 on Saturday to win the division title and the AFC’s third seed, ensuring a home playoff game next week.
The opponent is unknown, and it will be determined after the Cincinnati Bengals’ tight victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers later Saturday, as well as the Los Angeles Chargers’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
If the Chargers win Sunday, Pittsburgh and Baltimore will face off for the third time in an AFC North matchup. Otherwise, “Harbaugh Bowl Pt. 4” would take place in Baltimore’s wild-card round.
The Ravens began three of their first four drives in Cleveland territory, but only scored seven points in an unsightly first half for the offense.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is putting the finishing touches on his MVP campaign, was inefficient through the air (16-for-32, 217 yards, two touchdowns) despite his success on the ground (9 rushes for 63 yards).
The two-time MVP passed the 4,000-yard passing milestone and concluded the regular season with 915 rushing yards, his best since 2020.
Jackson and tight end Mark Andrews combined for a score for the sixth consecutive game.
The Browns began Bailey Zappe at quarterback, making him the team’s fourth quarterback this season after Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Thompson-Robinson took over for a few series before Zappe stepped in to finish the game.
The Ravens defense feasted, regardless of who was at center. Nate Wiggins, a rookie cornerback, opened the scoring with his first career pick-six.
Cleveland’s defense, which was missing several key players, bottled up Ravens running back Derrick Henry for the first half before “King Henry” – who celebrated his 31st birthday on Saturday – broke loose in the second half, with 130 of his 138 rushing yards coming after halftime in typical Henry fashion. His 43-yard touchdown with 3:04 remaining sealed the game.
The Ravens suffered losses in addition to their victory. Zay Flowers, a wide receiver who dropped an early third-down pass, missed the most of the game due to a knee injury. Safety Kyle Hamilton was injured early in the second half but later returned.
Cleveland’s lone touchdown of the game came on a 16-yard connection from Zappe to tight end Jordan Akins with 11:33 remaining in the game, cutting the deficit to 11.