He burst out of the locker room so quickly, he didn’t have time to put his cape on, but the MNF announcers knew who it was anyway-Superman, wearing #8 in black and purple.
Apparently, someone has slipped some kryptonite in his Gatorade, because Lamar Jackson had missed most of the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ vital showdown at Cleveland in week 14 last season. Baltimore was on the outside of the playoff brackets looking in, and a loss on that Monday night would have all but ended their postseason hopes.
The Ravens played with appropriate urgency and built a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, pounding the Browns’ defense on their way to 231 yards rushing. They lost their momentum when Jackson was being administered to in the locker room. He was receiving fluids for cramps, at least that’s the official story; there was some, shall I say, more graphic speculation put out there. When Lamar saw his replacement, Trace McSorley, go down with a knee injury right before the two-minute warning, it was time to rush back into action and save the team.
And save them he did.
On the first play after the two-minute warning, Jackson converted a fourth-and-five situation when he found Hollywood Brown across the middle for a 44-yard touchdown pass. If was a moment of redemption for Brown, who had been killed by the MNF announcers after some earlier drops.
That score put the Ravens ahead 42-35 and looked like that could be the game winner. Not so fast my friend. Baker Mayfield took his turn adding even more drama to the crazy script for this game.
Mayfield had seen his streak of passes without an interception end at 187 when Baltimore LB Tyus Bowser picked him off with a one-handed catch and returned it to Cleveland’s one yard line. J. K. Dobbins took it in from there pushing the Ravens lead up to 34-20 at the end of the third quarter.
However, when Jackson excused himself from the game, the Ravens’ offense stalled. This gave the Browns the opportunity to come back, dominating most of the fourth quarter and taking a 35-34 lead. This was despite Browns kicker Cody Parkey (now ex-Browns kicker) missing a 39-yard field goal and an extra point, which Cleveland compensated for with a two-point conversion after Mayfield’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins on fourth-and-four early in the fourth quarter. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Mayfield was throwing against a depleted secondary since Baltimore had lost Jimmy Smith and Marcus Peters to injury.
Mayfield had put his team ahead 35-34 with a 5-yard run on a scramble, and quickly marched his team down the field to answer Jackson’s heroics. He went 4-4 and his passes accounted for all the yards on a 75-yard drive that only took 47 seconds off the clock, ending with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Hunt. Parkey made the vitally important extra point to knot the score at 42 with 1:04 remaining in regulation.
Ah, but did Cleveland score too quickly? I probably wouldn’t be bringing this whole thing up if they hadn’t. Jackson matched Mayfield’s 4-4 passing, three of them going to TE Mark Andrews, and gained 38 yards. Baltimore moved to the Cleveland 37, where Jackson spiked the ball with eight second left.
Justin Tucker, who’d had an extra point blocked earlier, came in to do what Justin Tucker does-kick a 55-yard game-winning field goal.
There were still two second left on the clock, which did not move when Tucker sent his kickoff out of the end zone. This gave the Browns one last desperation play to score a 75-yard touchdown. The play led to a score all right-a safety for the Ravens. Cleveland continued to move backwards and finally ran out of room in the back of the end zone, where Marlon Humphrey wrapped up the festivities by tackling Jarvis Landry to make the final score 47-42 (more on that below). I don’t think they’re doing Football Follies films anymore, which is a shame because this play would certainly be in the next one. I just hope the Browns had not practiced that play because it would be even more embarrassing if they had.
So, a night with high drama and excitement ended on a comic note, but it will be remembered as not just an exciting win for the Ravens but an important one. Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston wrote that the win was “almost as bag as any in the franchise’s 25-year history.” It was a win against a hot opponent on the road when the Ravens were on the ropes, having just broken out of a three-game losing streak the week before (not to mention all the COVID-19 issues that were mixed up in it).
In some ways it’s hard to believe that game was less than one year ago. Jackson was playing so much better. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Jason Peters were playing. Yet, the Ravens stand in a much better position than they were heading into this game, although they face a much, much more difficult schedule to finish out this season than they did last year.
Two things remain constant. First, Baltimore’s secondary is again wiped out by injury, even worse than last year. Second, and more important, the team plays with a ton of heart. It was enough to get them in the playoffs and win a game there last season. Whether it will be enough this year is anyone’s guess, but hey, I write about the past, not the future. I’ll leave that question for the other crack staff writers on this site and then maybe I’ll write about it next year.
Fascinating Factoids of the Week
There were all sorts of records and statistical oddities in this game:
- Lamar Jackson’s 124 rushing yards was the most ever by a QB on Monday Night Football
- Jackson and Gus Edwards are the only Ravens duo to each score two or more rushing touchdowns in the same game in franchise history
- The Ravens and Browns became the first pair of teams to each have four or more rushing touchdowns in the same game
- It was the third game in NFL history with nine rushing touchdowns. The other two? Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember these classics; in 1922 the Rock Island Independents and the Evansville Crimson Giants combined for nine, and the Racine Legion and the Louisville Brecks matched them later that year. I am taking NFL Research’s word that they were real teams
- If that wasn’t obscure enough, the 47-42 final score was the 1,061st unique score in NFL history, otherwise known as a Scorigami
Ravens rookie OLB Odafe Oweh has received a lot of attention for some big defensive plays this season. He was Baltimore’s first round pick, and next week I’ll take a look back at some of the more notable first round picks in franchise history. They will cover the full spectrum, from Hall of Fame to busts.
Until then, you can follow me on Twitter @jimjfootball-come on, you know you want to! Please remember; it’s okay to look back as long as you live forward!
Jim Johnson spent most of his life in Maryland, growing up with the Orioles, the Colts, Terps, and later Ravens. He started his sports writing career as “The Courtmaster,” covering the Terps and ACC hoops and was a frequent guest on Bob Haynie’s old WNST show and other sports talk across the region. He is currently in his second run at BSL. After previously covering Maryland and Big Ten Football, he now writes about the NFL, primarily the action in the AFC North. Jim covers both current and historic stories, seeking perspective and having fun in the process.