In powering through Packers, Ravens show much-needed fight to keep their season alive
Despite a season that has tested them in so many ways, Derrick Henry and Baltimore showed they still had some punch left.
GREEN BAY, Wisc. — The Baltimore Ravens will know around 4 p.m. ET Sunday whether their victory Saturday night has significant meaning, or if it was just one final tantalizing reminder of their potential when they commit to Derrick Henry and the running game and don’t make back-breaking mistakes.
For now, and for a team that hasn’t had a ton of things to feel good about in recent weeks, their 41-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field earned them a few hours to celebrate and a reprieve from talking about the health of their starting quarterback and future of their head coach.
In a turn-back-the-clock performance against the playoff-bound and banged-up Packers, who couldn’t hold up against the Ravens’ physicality, Henry powered his way to one of the best efforts of his future Hall of Fame career. Tyler Huntley played another strong game in his second start in place of the ailing Lamar Jackson. The much-maligned offensive line had its finest three hours of the season.
And the Ravens, despite a season that has tested them in so many ways and left them on the verge of playoff extinction, showed they still have plenty of fight left. That was exemplified on each of Henry’s 36 punishing runs.
“It was just a heart-defining win, is what that was, the type of win that makes you proud to be a Raven, makes you proud to be with these guys every single day, starting with Derrick Henry and Tyler Huntley and everybody else that led the way to this victory,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I just think the belief on this football team is at a level that I’ve never really seen before, because we’ve been through a lot.
“It just makes my heart soar to see that and to see how these guys respond, how they’re there for one another, how they fight for one another, how they run the ball for one another. That’s what a team should be.”
The Ravens, however, know the good sentiment could all be temporary. To still be in the playoff mix heading into Week 18 and to have a chance to win the AFC North, they Ravens need the Cleveland Browns (3-12) to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6) Sunday at 1 p.m. If they do, the Ravens (8-8) will play the Steelers in a winner-take-all matchup next weekend at Acrisure Stadium.
If the Steelers beat the Browns, the Ravens will officially be eliminated from the playoffs, cementing this as one of the most disappointing regular seasons in franchise history and rendering the Week 18 rematch with Pittsburgh void of major playoff ramifications. It would mark the first time since 2021 that the Ravens have fallen short of the postseason. It would also force the organization to confront some difficult offseason decisions, starting with the future of Harbaugh, the team’s 18th-year head coach.