ExtremeRavens Posted 13 hours ago Posted 13 hours ago GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Ravens arrived at the cathedral of pro football confronted with their own mortality, last rites at the ready. Win at Lambeau Field against the Packers and they would keep their faint playoff pulse going for at least another day. Lose — as they have so often in the biggest of moments this season — and they would be officially expired. With injured quarterback Lamar Jackson unavailable for a fourth game this season and watching from the sideline, this time because of a back injury that he suffered last week, Derrick Henry rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns on a season-high 36 carries, while quarterback Tyler Huntley completed 80% of his passes for 107 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 60 yards to lead Baltimore to a must-win 41-24 victory over Green Bay and its own backup, Malik Willis. For Henry, it was his seventh time rushing for at least 200 yards, most in NFL history. Now, all the Ravens (8-8) can do is hope. Their chances of survival rest on — ironically — the Browns (3-12), who must beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6) on Sunday in Cleveland for Baltimore to stay in the playoff picture. If they do, that would set up a win-or-go-home contest between the Ravens and Steelers next Sunday in Pittsburgh, where the AFC North title and a spot in the postseason would be on the line. It also might mean the return of Jackson and yet another chance in a season full of them for the Ravens to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021. But that would still require Cleveland and rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders to pull off the upset against Aaron Rodgers and a team that can smell the finish line. A win by Pittsburgh would officially eliminate the Ravens and put the final nail in their season. If nothing else in what has been a dispiriting and at times discordant year for a Ravens team that opened as the Super Bowl favorite, they can at least take a little solace in fighting until the end. For the first 30 minutes, the Ravens dominated the Packers, particularly on the ground, with Henry racking up 106 of Baltimore’s 175 rushing yards. He also scored three times, with two of his touchdowns coming from 3 yards out and another from a yard out. For Baltimore fans, that had to be both gratifying and frustrating, the latter spawned from a wonderment of where the handoffs for Henry had been during some critical short-yard situations earlier this season. The former also helped stake Baltimore to a 27-14 halftime lead. At one point, the Ravens had run 25 plays to just two for the Packers — the latter of course leading to a touchdown to a wide-open Christian Watson on Green Bay’s opening possession. But over the first two quarters, the Ravens ran 45 plays to Green Bay’s 14 with a whopping time of possession advantage, 23:46 to 6:14. That was more than they had in three whole games this season. Baltimore ended up scoring on each of its first five possessions. Its first punt didn’t come until the 5:01 mark of the third quarter. Still, things grew perilously close to slipping away as they so often have time and again this year. After Brandon McManus hit a 24-yard field goal on the opening series of the third quarter, Willis picked apart the Ravens’ defense and in particular cornerback Nate Wiggins on the next possession. His 11-yard touchdown scramble with 2:08 remaining in the third cut the deficit to 27-24. But that was as close as things would get, with the Ravens and Henry hammering out 85 yards on 12 plays on their next possession, the drive capped with a Huntley 10-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers on third-and-8. Then Henry put an exclamation point on things with a 25-yard touchdown run around the left side with 2:02 remaining in the game. Of course, solace and a Lambeau leap by center Tyler Linderbaum after the final score only goes so far, because it is the Ravens’ own doing all year that they are even in this unenviable and unexpected position with help needed to have a chance to reach the postseason. Baltimore opened this campaign where last season’s playoffs ended, at Highmark Stadium in upstate New York against the Buffalo Bills, and for three quarters Jackson and the Ravens looked like the best team on the planet. Then came another fourth-quarter collapse, with Baltimore blowing a 15-point lead. That defeat shocked players and lingered long after the final whistle amid what ended up being a dreadful 1-5 start. Discord grew in the locker room, Jackson missed three games because of a hamstring injury and the Ravens’ season appeared headed for the abyss. But the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player’s return along with some defensive adjustments helped spark five straight wins and a climb back to a share of the division lead. In reality, it was all smoke and mirrors, though, with four of the victories coming against non-playoff teams. Faced with having to likely win one of their next two to keep pace with the Steelers, the Ravens instead flailed in the spotlight. First, they fell at home to Pittsburgh, then tied a franchise high with five turnovers in a Thanksgiving night thumping by the Bengals in Baltimore. One step forward, two steps back, usually at their own hand. Still, there was a chance. Until they blew another double-digit lead — again under the lights and at home — and lost to the New England Patriots. It marked the 12th time that the Ravens lost a game when leading by seven-plus points in the fourth quarter since 2021, the most in the NFL during that span. That left Baltimore needing to beat the Packers at Lambeau Field, who were without their own starting quarterback, Jordan Love, because of a left shoulder injury and concussion. The Ravens delivered. But will it be enough, or did it only prolong the inevitable? Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers, right, celebrates with tight end Mark Andrews, center, and running back Rasheen Ali after scoring a late touchdown in a 41-24 win over the Packers. (Morry Gash/AP) View the full article Quote
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