HOUSTON — A security guard outside NRG stadium greeted fans joyously Wednesday afternoon, bellowing, “We got the greatest QB nationwide … Merry Christmas!” as fans made their way inside for what was billed as a blockbuster showdown between AFC division leaders, the Ravens and Texans.
He was referring to the home team’s C.J. Stroud, but by the time the lights went dark for Beyoncé’s sparkling halftime performance, it was Lamar Jackson who dimmed and then turned out the lights on Houston’s chances.
“Alien Superstar” wasn’t one of the hits she played, but its lyrics seemed apropos: “I’m number one. I’m the only one. Don’t even waste your time trying to compete with me.”
Already leading 17-2 on the Ravens’ opening possession of the second half, Jackson kept the ball on a run-pass option, raced through a gaping hole in the right side of the line and ran untouched into the end zone 48 yards later. It was his fastest recorded run of the season, per NextGen Stats, at 21.25 mph. He said he was “jogging.”
Then, a few carries into the Ravens’ next series, he dashed into history, eclipsing Michael Vick’s NFL record of 6,109 career rushing yards for a quarterback.
“It feels unreal, to be honest with you,” Jackson said of breaking the mark. “I just give God all the glory. I’m grateful, man, because that’s a record that’s been held for a long time with Michael Vick, one of my favorite players. That’s just dope.”
Jackson finished 10 of 15 passing for 168 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 87 yards and one score on four carries before giving way to backup Josh Johnson in the fourth quarter as visiting Baltimore blew out Houston, 31-2.
“What could you say that would parallel what he did?” coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s just another phenomenal performance.
“It’s kind of what he does every week.”
The game only looked easy for the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, who is a candidate to win the award for a third time.
“I’m just playing football,” Jackson said. “I’m trying to win.
“I’m just having fun. It’s not easy. I don’t care what nobody say. It looks easy, but it’s not.”
Most importantly for the Ravens (11-5), the victory puts them alone atop the AFC North with one game left in the regular season after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the suddenly floundering Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the day. Remarkably, Baltimore has gone from two games back of Pittsburgh coming off its bye week earlier this month to a game in front.
And the Ravens did it with three victories in just 11 days, outscoring opponents 100-33 in the span, winning all three by double digits.
“Great win. Proud of our guys,” Harbaugh said. “These guys took these three games in 11 days and smashed it, obliterated it, tore it up and made it into a bunch of smithereens laying around everywhere.”
Their latest victory was their most impressive.
Facing a Texans defense that came into the game No. 1 in the league in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA), third in sacks and led by star edge rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, the Ravens leaned early on running back Derrick Henry (147 yards, one touchdown on 27 carries), who carried five times for 26 yards on the game’s first series, including from 2 yards out for his first touchdown in four games. It was also his 16th of the season, breaking the single-season franchise record set by Ray Rice (2011) and Mark Ingram II (2019).
“Yeah definitely [a tone-setter],” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “We started the game fast and that’s what we wanna do. We haven’t done that every game, come out with a touchdown drive and we did this week and that’s how we want to start every week.”
It had been a long while, with Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals being the last time Baltimore had opened a game with a touchdown on its first possession.
It was also a sign of things to come — for the Ravens’ NFL-best ground game and its NFL Most Valuable Player candidate at quarterback.
Baltimore’s next drive stalled at the Texans’ 34-yard line, but it didn’t matter, with kicker Justin Tucker looking like his old self as he easily made a 52-yard field goal for a 10-0 first-quarter lead.
The Ravens dominated the opening stanza in just about every way possible but especially on the ground, with Henry accounting for 86 of the Ravens’ 143 total yards as the offensive line blew open one big hole after another. Houston, meanwhile, was held to just 27 yards for a woeful 2.9 yards per play to Baltimore’s 8.4.
Things only got worse from there for the Texans.
After Henry was dropped in the end zone by defensive back Kamari Lassiter for a safety early in the second quarter, it looked like momentum was about to shift. But on fourth-and-goal from Baltimore’s 4-yard line on the next series, cornerback Tre’Davious White and safety Ar’Darius Washington converged on Houston running back Joe Mixon and drilled him out of bounds at the 1, snuffing out any chance of a potential game-tying score.
“I seen him throw the ball and I was like there was no way I’m gonna let him get in here,” said Washington, who collided with Zach Orr in celebration on the sideline, knocking the defensive coordinator to the ground. “So I just broke on the ball.”
Then the Ravens’ offense did what it always seems to do of late — move the ball by the chunk with Jackson leading the way.
Henry ran for 7 yards. Rashod Bateman caught a 12-yard pass. Jackson scrambled away from pressure and hit Zay Flowers for a gain of 16. Henry ran for 5 more. Then Jackson eluded more pressure and found his security blanket, Mark Andrews, on a lob down the right sideline, with the tight end stiff-arming a defender and rumbling 67 yards before being dragged down at the Texans’ 13.
Two plays later, Jackson did it again, eluding the defense, rolling right and throwing back to his left — perhaps an appropriate ode to the halftime act — for a touchdown pass to tight end Isaiah Likely to put the Ravens up 17-2.
The Texans got the ball back but on a fourth-and-2 from the Ravens’ 43 with 1:18 remaining in the half, they opted to punt, drawing a chorus of boos from the crowd.
Both teams had run 31 plays in the first half, but that’s where the similarities ended.
The Ravens outgained the Texans, 261 yards to 125. They averaged 8.4 yards per play to their 4.0. They had 117 rushing yards to Houston’s 28. Jackson threw for 144 yards to Stroud’s 97. Baltimore was perfect in the red zone, scoring twice, while the Texans were 0-for-1.
Then, less than two minutes into the second half, Jackson put the game out of reach before he put the cherry on top, capping a 10-play, 62-yard drive with another touchdown strike to Andrews.
Baltimore’s ascendant defense, meanwhile, stifled the Texans all game, holding Stroud to 17 of 31 passing for 185 yards while sacking him five times. The Ravens’ run defense, which came into the game No. 1 in the league in yards allowed and yards allowed per attempt, also completely shut down Mixon (26 yards on nine carries).
“I’m not gonna lie, I would say we’ve come full circle,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said of the once-maligned defense. “It felt good.
“When I had conversations with some of the guys one-on-one, two-on-two, it was some tough conversations. We still believed [but] it did seem far away. It seemed every single guy was having a mishap at the wrong time. … Early in the season we kept being like ‘What are we doing wrong?’ It was simple. You just got to get all 11 guys doing their job. The coaching hasn’t necessarily changed; a couple pieces have shifted and that’s been there, just getting all 11 guys doing their job. When we do that, we’re really tough defense. When we’re not, we look average.”
Now the Ravens will get a few days off before preparing for their regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on either Jan. 4 or 5.
They are acutely aware of the stakes. If they win, it will wrap up another AFC North title and likely the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, which would guarantee a wild-card game at home in the first round of the postseason.
“I want that AFC North,” Humphrey said. “It feels good to get that hat and T-shirt.”
Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.
Week 18
Browns at Ravens
TBA
TV: TBA
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
