GREEN BAY, Wis. — On his first touchdown run, Derrick Henry barreled over several Green Bay Packers for a 3-yard score. On his second, he slashed off the left side from 1 yard out. By the time he scored for a fourth time, the Packers had seen enough. They didn’t even get a hand on him as Henry raced 25 yards for a touchdown that essentially clinched the game and wrapped up one of the great rushing performances in Ravens history.
In a game the Ravens needed to win to keep their season alive, Henry rumbled a career-high 36 times for 216 yards and four scores as the Ravens ran past the Packers, 41-24, at historic Lambeau Field on Dec. 27.
Quarterback Tyler Huntley was superb in making his second start of the season in place of Lamar Jackson, who missed the game after suffering a back injury against New England last week. Head coach John Harbaugh described the injury as a “contusion,” and Jackson was inactive after missing practice all week.
Huntley stepped in and completed 16 of 20 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown, and he also ran eight times for 60 yards.
Discounting a final one-play possession, Huntley led the Ravens to scores on seven of eight drives, including five touchdown drives of 65 yards or more.
The Ravens set the tone right away. After winning the opening coin toss, the Ravens elected to receive the ball rather than defer, and proceeded to march 75 yards in 13 plays, capped by Henry’s first touchdown run.
Just two minutes into the second quarter, Henry had already carried 15 times for 82 yards and a pair of scores.
Those long drives were sandwiched around a lightning-quick, two-play touchdown drive led by Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis.
Starting in place of injured Jordan Love (concussion), Willis fired a 40-yard pass to Romeo Doubs on his first snap and then hit Christian Watson down the middle for a 39-yard touchdown that tied the game at seven.
Willis added a 22-yard touchdown run with 1:24 left in the first half that cut the Ravens’ lead to 20-14, but Huntley then led a masterful two-minute drive. The biggest play of the drive was a 25-yard designed quarterback draw by Huntley, and then Henry ran right for a 3-yard touchdown, his third score of the game, for a 27-14 Ravens lead at the half.
The Packers (9-6-1), who have already secured a playoff berth, didn’t back down. Willis’ second touchdown run of the game cut the Ravens’ lead to 27-24 late in the third quarter, but again, Henry, Huntley and the Ravens had an answer.
Henry closed the third quarter with a nine-yard run on third-and-5, followed by a 30-yard run down the right sideline right in front of the Ravens’ bench. Then facing third-and-8 from the Packers’ 10-yard line, Huntley hit Zay Flowers with a touchdown pass at the pylon in the left front corner of the end zone for a 34-24 lead.
Willis left the game on the Packers’ next possession with a shoulder injury, and two plays later, third-string quarterback Clayton Tune’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Marlon Humphrey, setting up one final touchdown drive for Henry and the Ravens.
Here are five quick impressions of the game, which makes Huntley 2-0 as a starter this season (he also started the Ravens’ win against Chicago in October):
1. The Ravens are all Browns fans now.
Riding the euphoria of this win, the Ravens now can only watch and hope.
Their playoff fortunes rest squarely on the 3-12 Cleveland Browns, who host the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6) on Sunday. If the Steelers win that game, then they clinch the AFC North title and the Ravens are eliminated from postseason contention. But if the Browns can somehow find a way to win — and they have beaten the Steelers in Cleveland five of the past six meetings there — then the Ravens will go to Pittsburgh for a Week 18 regular-season finale with the AFC North title on the line.
Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley, who had spent part of training camp in Cleveland before being signed by the Ravens, joked that he was going to call Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders and make sure he “gets it done” against the Steelers.
In a joyful Ravens locker room, tight end Mark Andrews stressed how well the Ravens responded in a had-to-have-it game after a disappointing loss to New England last week, and he said on Sunday he will “tune in to that [Browns-Steelers] game and hope for the best. … Hopefully the cards fall where we want them to and we get an opportunity. That’s all we can really hope for.
“Obviously this isn’t the spot where we wanted to be,” he continued. “We have so much talent on this team, but I’m very proud of these guys.”
2. Derrick Henry was unstoppable, which will lead to even more second-guessing.
There’s never been a game like it in Ravens history. Henry became the first Ravens running back ever to rush for four touchdowns in a game, and from the game’s opening series until his final touchdown run, Henry ran over, past, and through the Packers.
“Tonight was just really fun,” Henry said.
Henry finished with 36 carries — tied for the most by a Raven and the most of his career — for 216 yards, the third-highest total in franchise history. Henry, who turns 32 next week, looked to be in the prime of his certain Hall of Fame career.
“It’s one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “It was hard, downhill running, but also a lot of ‘make miss.'”
Harbaugh also stressed the blocking from not only the offensive line but also tight ends and receivers, who physically dominated a Packers defense that was playing without All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons and lost several other players to injuries during the game.
Henry’s dominant performance, though, inevitably casts further scrutiny on the Ravens’ loss to the New England Patriots last week.
Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken endured withering criticism for keeping Henry on the sideline during a critical possession with a three-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Ravens’ drive stalled, and New England took over and drove for a game-winning touchdown.
After the game, Harbaugh explained that the plays to begin that drive had been designed for running back Keaton Mitchell, and both Henry and running backs coach Willie Taggart had been on board with Mitchell starting that drive. Harbaugh later said that the plan was for Henry to take over later in that drive, but the drive ended before that ever happened.
The loss to the Patriots essentially made this a must-win game at Lambeau Field but also set the stage for the Ravens to be eliminated by Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Watching Henry take over this game surely won’t silence the critics who think the Ravens too often — and especially last week against New England — have seemingly forgotten that they have Henry as a weapon.
3. Tyler Huntley was in complete command running the Ravens’ offense.
Since Lamar Jackson became the Ravens starter in 2018, the team had been 76-30 in regular-season games he starts and 5-11 in games he missed. With him sidelined, it was up to Tyler Huntley to save the Ravens season, and for at least one day, he did.
Huntley was superb, and Harbaugh and Monken devised a game plan that was well suited for him. Huntley got into rhythm with a lot of high percentage throws, and he sprinkled in several of his own runs to complement the Derrick Henry-led rushing attack.
Huntley finished 16-for-20 for 107 yards and one touchdown, which came on maybe his best throw of the day. Facing third-and-8 from the Packers’ 10-yard line, Huntley zipped a pass to the left sideline where only Zay Flowers could catch it. Flowers did, then lunged over the pylon for a touchdown and a 34-24 lead.
After the Packers had closed the Ravens’ lead to 20-14, Huntley took over at the Ravens’ 35 with 1:24 left in the half. He proceeded to march the offense 65 yards in seven plays, including a 25-yard quarterback draw.
“Once they just gave me the lane, I just pulled it down and made the play that I could make,” Huntley said.
He finished with eight carries for 60 yards — the most by a Ravens quarterback since Jackson ran for 70 at Buffalo in Week 1.
The Ravens never even faced a third down on that two-minute drive, and Henry’s third touchdown of the half, this time from 3 yards out, gave the Ravens a 27-14 lead with 13 seconds left in the half.
Huntley’s command of the huddle also showed up on a key third-down play late in the third quarter. With the Ravens lead at 27-24 and the Packers fans roaring, Huntley approached the line of scrimmage and calmly reset his offense and appeared to change the play. He handed off to Henry, who powered for nine yards and a first down.
Huntley’s emergence to score wins over two NFC playoff teams — the Chicago Bears and the Packers — is one reason the Ravens are still alive in postseason contention. The Ravens — who elevated Huntley to the No. 2 quarterback spot over Cooper Rush, whose signing looks especially wasteful — can’t ask much more from a backup quarterback than Huntley delivered at Lambeau Field.
Harbaugh said Huntley’s performance was “A-plus. Give [Huntley] two pluses on top of that maybe three. That’s how it was. It couldn’t have been any better. … I see Tyler every day in practice, so I’m not surprised, but for him to make the third-down conversions, the scramble plays, the throws, the on-time throws, the accurate throws that he made to run the offense in Lambeau Field — it’s loud. … To run the offense the way he did, make the checks the way he did, get us in the plays we needed to get in, just A-plus.”
4. Malik Willis excelled too, and that’s a problem for this defense.
As good as Tyler Huntley was, Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis matched him until leaving the game with a shoulder injury. Unlike Huntley, who kept the passing game contained primarily to short, high-percentage throws, Willis attacked the Ravens’ defense deep, and with far more success than the Ravens would like.
Willis finished 18-for-21 for 288 yards, and set the tone on the Packers’ opening possession, as he aired out passes of 40 yards and 39 yards on his first two plays for a two-play touchdown drive.
Romeo Doubs got behind Nate Wiggins on the first play, and Christian Walker found daylight behind Kyle Hamilton down the middle of the defense for the first touchdown. It was a tough night overall for Wiggins, who more than once had a receiver get a step on him.
Willis also made the Ravens, and especially Marlon Humphrey, pay, with his legs. In the second quarter, Humphrey bit hard on a read-option play to the left, but Willis kept the ball and ran right. Playing on the left side of the Ravens defense, Humphrey lost the edge and couldn’t recover. He could only watch as Willis raced past him for a 22-yard touchdown.
In the third quarter, Willis again kept on an 11-yard read-option touchdown run to the right. He finished with nine carries for 60 yards — the same as Huntley — and was easily the Packers’ leading rusher.
Humphrey, though, did recover with one of the game’s biggest plays, snagging a tipped pass for an interception thrown by third-string quarterback Clayton Tune after Willis left the game.
It marked the third straight game with an interception for Humphrey.
“I thought the defense did a good job of picking themselves up off the mat,” Harbaugh said. “There were just too many big plays in the passing game. … We were a little on our heels. We were a little discombobulated there, and it was shocking, and we were all kind of shocked by it.
“I have to give Malik Willis a lot of credit,” he added. “We had him in the pocket numerous times, and he got out and made plays. That’s probably the biggest thing. All those things are things that they had to overcome, and I’m glad we did finally at the end.”
5. The Ravens won this game on third down.
In several Ravens losses this year, the offense couldn’t sustain drives, but against the Packers, the offense, led by Huntley and Henry, was exceptional, especially on third down.
The Ravens converted 10 of 14 third downs, which kept their offense on the field, kept Derrick Henry running right at a worn-down Packers defense, and let them continue to dominate the game physically. That’s one reason the Ravens ran 74 offensive plays — 30 more than Green Bay — and controlled the ball for twice as long as the Packers (winning time of possession 40:16-19:44).
After the Packers had closed the gap to 27-24, Huntley checked the play at the line of scrimmage, then handed to Henry for a gain of 9 just before the third quarter ended. Later in that drive, Huntley scrambled for 9 yards on third-and-4, and then his 10-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers came on third-and-8.
On the Ravens’ final scoring drive, the Ravens converted two third downs, including a 6-yard run by Huntley on third-and-5. Huntley lunged for the first down, and the Packers unsuccessfully challenged the spot, arguing that the Ravens had been stopped short. As was the case all night, the run succeeded.
The Ravens entered the game ranked 16th in third-down conversion percentage, but in their losses this year, they have seen how the inability get off the field on third down can physically and mentally tax a defense. In this game, the Ravens put that toll on the Packers.
All night, the chains moved and the Packers’ defenders could only watch, put their hands on their hips, try to catch a breath and get ready for more Derrick Henry running right at them.
Photo Credit: Bo Smolka/PressBox