Christmas day couldn’t have gone any better for the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens delivered another dominant performance en route to a 31-2 win over the Houston Texans and Jackson became the NFL’s all-time leading rusher at quarterback. Jackson ran for 87 yards, reaching 6,110 rushing yards in his career. With 6,110 rushing yards, Jackson surpassed Michael Vick, who ran for 6,109 yards. The Ravens quarterback reached the mark in 41 fewer games than Vick.
With the win, Baltimore moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC North in lieu of the Pittsburgh Steelers losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 29-10 earlier in the day. If the Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns in Week 18, they’ll win the division for the second straight season and host a playoff game in the AFC Wild Card Round.
Since the bye week, Baltimore has outscored its last three opponents 100-33.
Jackson dazzled again and strengthened his case to win the third MVP of his career and second in a row. The Ravens quarterback completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He had 255 total yards and three touchdowns, including a 48-yard run that opened the scoring in the second half.
Tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely were on the receiving end of Jackson’s passing touchdowns. Running back Derrick Henry delivered another strong performance on the ground, running 27 times for 147 yards and a touchdown. Baltimore ran for 252 yards against a Houston defense that allowed an average of 106.8 rushing yards per game heading into Wedneasday.
The Ravens defense pitched a shutout and harassed Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud all night, sacking him five times in the win. Baltimore also had six tackles for loss in the win. Houston’s lone score of the game came on a safety in the second quarter when it tackled Henry in the end zone.
Stroud completed 17 of 31 passes for 185 yards and threw an interception to All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton. The interception was Hamilton’s first of the season. Baltimore also stopped the Texans on the two times they went for it on fourth down.
Baltimore (11-5) rounds out the regular season when it faces the Cleveland Browns (3-12) on Jan. 5.
