The Baltimore Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns 35-10 to win the AFC North and secure the conference’s three-seed. In the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Ravens will either host the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Los Angeles Chargers.
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson had 280 total yards and two passing touchdowns in this game. With that performance, Jackson became the first player in NFL history to throw for 4,000+ yards and run for 900+ yards in a single season.
Browns QB Bailey Zappe, the 40th quarterback to start for Cleveland since 1999, threw a pick-six on his second pass of the game to put Baltimore ahead 7-0 in the first quarter. Though Zappe was replaced by third-stringer Dorian Thompson-Robinson for one possession, he did get the nod to go back into the game. Zappe finished the day completing 16 of 31 passes for 170 passing yards, a passing TD, and two interceptions.
PICK-SIX @WigginNathaniel!!!!
Tune in on ESPN!!! pic.twitter.com/GdjVv5yvwC
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 4, 2025
Baltimore Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers left the game after sustaining what appeared to be a knee injury in the second quarter. He limped off the field and went back to the locker room where he was eventually ruled out of the game with a knee injury.
Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy finished the game with a sack, triggering a $250,000 payout for the 12-year veteran as part of incentives laid out in the two-year contract extension he signed this off-season. His 12.5 sacks are a new career-high for the 33-year-old.
Ravens tight end Mark Andrews caught his team-leading 11th touchdown reception of the season to take a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Earlier in the game, Andrews passed former tight end Todd Heap for the second-most receiving yards in Ravens history.
After being held to just eight rushing yards in the first half, Derrick Henry exploded for 25 yards on the first offensive play of the second half. Henry accounted for 28 yards on Baltimore’s 65-yard touchdown drive that put the Ravens ahead 21-3 in the third quarter. The NFL’s second-leading rusher had 138 ground yards and two touchdowns in this matchup. He also became the first player in NFL history to have three separate seasons rushing for 1,500+ yards and 15+ touchdowns.
One of the Brown’s few bright spots was their fourth-down defense. Cleveland held the Ravens to zero fourth-down conversions on three attempts. Another positive moment came early in the fourth quarter when the Browns scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 21-10. That ended a streak of 24 consecutive drives by Cleveland without a touchdown.
put some Zap on it to Akins for the TD#CLEvsBAL on ESPN/ABC & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/n9pv1YPduo
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 5, 2025
Even though he left the game briefly with an injury, Ravens wideout Rashod Bateman made his presence felt with five receptions for a team-high 76 yards and a touchdown. 44 of those receiving yards came on an eight-play touchdown drive to make the lead 28-10 in the fourth quarter.
Derrick Henry scored his second touchdown of the afternoon with 3:04 left in the fourth quarter to seal the 35-10 victory. That score put Henry in a tie with Hall of Famer Jim Brown for the sixth-most rushing touchdowns in NFL history (106).
The good news for Browns fans is that with this loss, Cleveland is guaranteed to have a top-three pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. If the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans win on Sunday, the Browns will secure the number-one overall pick in the draft. However, the Browns will pick third if both of those teams lose tomorrow.
