FULL SCORE
Michael Baca’s delivery:
- Ravens wake up in the second half to have an ugly victory. It was a grim scene in Baltimore after two quarters as the Ravens produced just 72 yards of offense while facing a 7-3 halftime deficit against the two-win Jets. Nothing seemed to be working Lamar Jackson and Co., but when opportunities arose in the second half, the Ravens responded. Baltimore reeled off three straight second-half field goals as the Jets inflicted their demise with a defensive penalty and one questionable midfield call. Derrick Henry punted on every Baltimore touchdown in the third quarter, a game that somewhat overshadowed a rough day on the field (64 rushing yards). Zay flower did his best to provide a spark on offense, returning 58 yards on five receptions with great moves after the catch. While Baltimore’s defense was strong, the offense struggled to find any sort of rhythm. On a day when Jackson was simply out of sorts, the Ravens were fortunate to face a flawed team led by a rookie head coach. Nevertheless, the Ravens won their fifth straight and enter the short week with first place in the AFC North hanging in the balance.
- Referee errors upset New York’s attempt. The Jets were firmly in control with Tyrod Taylor led a balanced offense while New York’s defense stifled Baltimore’s offensive rhythm. It was the result of a first-half miscue by the Jets, whose second-half turnovers helped lift Baltimore out of a hole. Two brutal third-and-long penalties on each of the Ravens’ first two drives of the third quarter led to TD scores. In between those scoring drives, the Jets turned the ball over on downs up the middle after going for it on fourth-and-2, giving the Ravens a great opportunity to gain momentum. After answering with a goal on their next possession, the Jets seemed to hang around Breece Hall powered the offense on the ground and through the air (119 scrimmage yards), but his magic at the Ravens’ 3-yard line served as the final nail in the coffin. Taylor was solid in his first game since being named the starter, completing 17 of 28 passes for 222 yards with one TD and a late interception that put the game out of reach. He found a rhythm John Metchie III (six receptions, 65 yards; TD) and Adonai Mitchell (42 yards on two receptions) provided some big gains.
- Jackson’s fight in the air remains. It was a strange performance from Jackson, who shied away from any kind of pressure and was indecisive when outside the pocket looking to make something of a broken play. Normally, we would see Jackson make something out of nothing in these situations, but he seemed to lack the explosiveness to create such magic. Maybe it’s because of the many injuries Jackson has dealt with this season, but it’s rare to see the Ravens’ star quarterback finish with such impressive numbers through the air (13-of-23 passing for 153 yards) and on the ground (11 rushing yards on seven attempts). Jackson avoided all the horrendous mistakes the Jets needed to get back into the game in the second half, but it wasn’t exactly an outing that Baltimore will be confident about as it heads into a tight playoff race in the final stretch.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Jets-Ravens (via NFL Pro): Breece Hall caught all four of his targets for 75 yards in the Jets’ Week 12 loss to the Ravens. He recorded 79 yards per catch, his season high and most in a game since Week 5 of 2022 against the Dolphins. Hall now has 270 yards after the catch this season, 10th among all running backs, with 135 of those yards coming in the last three games. He has also gained +82 yards per catch over projected, fifth most among running backs.
NFL Research: Derrick Henry (12,294 career rushing yards) passed Marcus Allen, Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk for 12th on the all-time rushing list. He also joined LaDainian Tomlinson (38) and Emmitt Smith (36) as the only players with at least 30 career TDs.