The legend of Lamar continues. They can start creating his Hall of Fame bust in Canton right now.
The Baltimore Ravens (11-5) have a bit of a strangle hold on first place in the AFC North, and Lamar Jackson made his bid for the third MVP award of his career in a Christmas Day blowout of C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans. Jackson completed 10-of-15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns while using his unique running ability, rushing for 87 yards and passing Michael Vick, who played in the league for 13 years, for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history, in the victory.
“It’s just another phenomenal performance,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He set the all-time NFL record for rushing yards (for a quarterback) in pro football. That kind of speaks for itself. It’s just kind of what he does every week.”
Jackson passed Vick, who is now the coach at Norfolk State University, on a 6-yard scramble with just over seven minutes to go in the third quarter to give him an incredible 6,110 rushing yards in his career, eclipsing Vick’s mark of 6,109. He had 87 of his yards on just four carries and accumulated 73 yards on his first two carries, including a 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that put him within range of Vick.
“Michael Vick, one of my favorite players,” Jackson said. “That’s just dope.”
A highlight came when Jackson dashed 48 yards for a touchdown on a run where he reached a career-best top speed of 21.25 mph.
“I was jogging,” Jackson said. “I didn’t have to do anything.”
Running back Derrick Henry is the true definition of a work horse, rushing for 147 yards as the Ravens finished with 251 rushing yards in the win. The Ravens defense, who have been inconsistent at times, locked down an undermanned Texans offense and did not give up a single point, as the Texans’ points came off a safety in the second quarter. Stroud, who is going through a sophomore slump, finished 17 of 31 for 185 yards and a pick.
Baltimore still has something to play for in the final week of the season and needs a win in Week 18 to put a bow on the AFC North and the No. 3 overall seed in the playoffs. Houston appears locked into the No. 4 seed in the AFC with the loss, needing everything and the kitchen sink to fall their way to improve its playoff standing.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Ravens came out on the winning side of the equation because they were just better than the Texans in every phase of the game, but the biggest difference ended up being the lopsided rushing totals. Baltimore set the tone right away, on the first possession by rushing for 51 yards on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to kick off the game and never took their foot off the gas.
Baltimore had 115 rushing yards to Houston’s eight after the first quarter, and the Ravens finished with 228 rushing yards to the Texans’ 45. Henry had 143 rushing yards and Jackson had 87 on four carries. It comes down to the Ravens sticking with the game plan and doing what they know works.
There are levels to success and the Texans are on a lower tier than the Ravens, and were unprepared in a lot of areas. The defense showed no resistance and allowed the Ravens to average 7.7 yards per play and 6.5 yards per carry when the starters were in. The Ravens also scored touchdowns on four of their nine possessions when the starters were in.
Stroud and the offense were shut out as well, with the only points coming because of the defense taking down Henry in the end zone (a safety). The Texans second-year quarterback was inaccurate early in the game, which led to them getting into a deep hole. Houston was also 3 of 13 on third down and 0 of 2 on fourth down when the starters were in and you cannot win that way. Just a poor showing by the Texans.
“This game comes down to guys making plays and they had two exceptional playmakers on their side in Lamar and Derrick Henry,” Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They made plays and that was the game.”
The turning point came in the game when the Texans were facing a fourth-and-goal situation at the 4-yard line late in the second quarter, but failed to convert a touchdown and climb their way back in the game. Stroud threw a pass underneath to Joe Mixon that only netted three yards. The Texans turned the ball over on downs, and that was the closest they got to scoring anything on offense.
The Ravens responded with a six-play drive that went 99 yards, ending with a Jackson 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely that was an MVP-type throw. Baltimore took a 15-point advantage, 17-2, and the game felt over and out of reach at that point. The Texans needed a touchdown on that fourth-and-goal.
The crowd was looking forward to the halftime show, which was a mini-concert by singer/star Beyonce.
Mixon refused to talk to the media postgame, but Stroud shouldered the blame for the loss.
“Terrible on my behalf, probably one of my worst games in my whole career,” he said. “Just came out flat, didn’t have any energy. I didn’t lead the offense the way I should have.”
There were a number of plays from Jackson that were worthy of being called the play of the game, but the Likely touchdown that put Baltimore up 17-2 was the best of the best.
Jackson took a read-option and rolled to his right, pump faked twice and saw nothing open, so he bought himself some extra time along the sideline. Jackson had Texans pass rusher Danielle Hunter on roller skates as he moved backwards and faked him out several times before pointing to Likely in the end zone.
He fired to Likely in the middle of the field for the 9-yard score that showcased why Jackson will likely win MVP. This was on the same day Jackson broke the rushing yardage record for quarterbacks. Just another amazing play for Jackson in a career full of them, and he is just getting started.
The Ravens (11-5) close their regular season against Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns, while the Texans (9-7) end their season against Mack Jones and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The game dates have yet to be determined. Both teams are going to the playoffs.
