Ravens’ 355-pound lineman snags offense to win division title with victory vs. Browns
Baltimore Ravens defensive end Michael Pierce caught the first pass of his NFL career on Saturday to seal the team’s victory against the Cleveland Browns.
Pierce came up with a big decision for the Browns’ offense in the red zone and the Ravens went up 35-10.
Pierce made a play, putting his 355-pound body in front of a pass from Browns linebacker Dorian Thompson-Robinson and inbounding it. He fumbled a bit with the ball before rolling over to end the play, which allowed his offense to run out the clock. outside.
The Ravens celebrated their second straight NFC North title when it was over.
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Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium Jan. 4, 2025, in Baltimore. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
The Ravens (12-5) will open the playoffs at home against either the Los Angeles Chargers or the Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore was two games behind the Steelers in the division before winning their last four to finish at the top.
Cleveland (3-14) ended the season with a six-game losing streak. Both Bailey Zappe and Thompson-Robinson took snaps at quarterback in the finals. Neither could move the ball much, and Zappe had a pass returned 26 yards for a touchdown by rookie Nate Wiggins for the game’s first points.
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The biggest concern coming out of the Ravens game was the health of Pro Bowl receiver Zay Flowers, who left the second quarter with a right knee injury.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw touchdown passes to Mark Andrews in the second quarter and to Rashod Bateman in the third, capping a spectacular season that could earn him a third MVP award.
Jackson finished the season with 4,172 yards passing, 41 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He became the first quarterback to reach 4,000 yards passing with 40 TD passes and four or fewer interceptions.
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Cleveland Browns’ D’Onta Foreman (27) is tackled by Baltimore Ravens’ Roquan Smith (0) in the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium Jan. 4, 2025, in Baltimore. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Jackson finished the season with 915 yards rushing, became the first to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for at least 800. His passer rating of 119.6 was not enough to break the single-season record of 122.5 held by Aaron Rodgers.
Zappe threw for 170 yards with two touchdowns. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Akins made it 21-10 in the fourth, but the Ravens responded with a 70-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry.
Henry, who turned 31 on Saturday, added a 43-yard scoring run late in the fourth. He finished the season with 1,921 yards rushing and a franchise record 16 rushing touchdowns.
Cleveland has now gone 28 games in a row without allowing a 300-yard passer. Jackson finished 16 of 32 for 217 yards.
The Associates Press contributed to this report.
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