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Derrick Henry rushed for a season-high 216 yards and matched a career high with four touchdown runs as the Baltimore Ravens kept their playoff hopes alive by defeating the Green Bay Packers 41-24 on Saturday night.
Henry had three touchdown runs in the first half and then scored again on a 25-yard run with 1:56 left in the game. His seventh career 200-yard rushing performance moved him ahead of Adrian Peterson and OJ Simpson for the most in NFL history.
His 36 carries represented a career high.
The Ravens (8-8) now must hope the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers lose at Cleveland on Sunday. A Steelers victory in Cleveland would end Baltimore’s playoff hopes. If the Browns win that game, the Ravens could win the AFC North by beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh on 4 January.
Green Bay (9-6-1) lost their third straight, enabling the Chicago Bears to clinch the NFC North title. The Packers already clinched a playoff berth on Thursday when the Detroit Lions lost 23-10 at Minnesota.
Both teams were missing their starting quarterbacks as Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson deals with a back injury while Green Bay’s Jordan Love is in concussion protocol. The two replacement starters – Baltimore’s Tyler Huntley and Green Bay’s Malik Willis – were both effective in a game that featured only one punt.
Willis went 18 of 21 for a career-high 288 yards and one touchdown, and he also rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns before leaving after aggravating a shoulder injury midway through the fourth quarter. Huntley was 16 of 20 for 107 yards with one touchdown.
The difference in the game was Green Bay’s inability to slow down Henry, who helped the Ravens outrush the Packers 307-79.
Henry didn’t touch the ball in Baltimore’s final two series last weekend as the Ravens blew an 11-point, fourth quarter in a 28-24 loss to New England that put their playoff hopes on life support. The veteran running back’s lack of fourth-quarter usage was a hot topic around Baltimore all week.
The Ravens made sure he got the ball early and often Saturday. Henry’s dominance enabled the Ravens to score on their first five possessions and take a 27-14 halftime lead over Green Bay, which hadn’t allowed more than 24 points in 14 straight home games.
Henry totaled 15 carries in Baltimore’s first two series and capped each of them with touchdown runs, from three yards and one yard away. He was the first player to have at least 15 carries in his team’s first two offensive series since Denver’s Olandis Gary against Green Bay in 1999.
He added another three-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left in the second quarter.
Green Bay got back into the game by outscoring Baltimore 10-0 in the third quarter.
After Brandon McManus kicked a 24-yard field goal, the Packers forced the first punt of the night. Willis then ran around right end for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 27-24 with 2:02 left in the third.
But the Ravens responded on their next series.
Henry ran for a nine-yard gain on third-and-5 from Baltimore’s 20. He closed the third quarter with a 30-yard burst up the right sideline. Those two plays set up Huntley’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers, which came on a third-and-8 play with 10:10 left.
Willis drove the Packers into Baltimore territory before hurting his shoulder and heading to the locker room. Clayton Tune took over, and his only pass was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey.
Houston Texans 20-16 Los Angeles Chargers
CJ Stroud threw for two long touchdowns on Houston’s first two drives of the game, and the Texans went on to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-16 on Saturday and clinch a third consecutive playoff berth for the first time in franchise history.
The Texans (11-5) won their eighth in a row, their longest such streak since winning nine straight in 2018.
The Chargers (11-5) had their four-game winning streak snapped and handed the AFC West title to idle Denver. They beat the first-place Broncos in Week 3, but blew a chance to set up a winner-take-all showdown in Denver in Week 18.
The Chargers got knocked out of the playoffs in a wildcard loss to Houston last season.
Stroud’s two explosive TDs stunned the Chargers and gave Houston a 14-0 lead. On his first pass of the game, he hit Jayden Higgins for a 75-yard score against busted coverage. Stroud wasn’t pressured when he threw a 43-yard TD to Jaylin Noel, who wasn’t covered.
The Chargers had allowed just one TD pass of 40 or more yards in their last 15 games.
Stroud completed his first six throws of the game. He finished 16 of 28 for 244 yards and two interceptions.
Houston’s defense forced third-down sacks of Justin Herbert on the Chargers’ first two possessions. They were three-and-out on three of their first four possessions, quieting the SoFi Stadium crowd.
Playing his third game with a broken left (non-throwing) hand, Herbert was 21 for 32 for 236 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked five times.
Derwin James Jr intercepted Stroud in the second quarter, but the Chargers only managed a 27-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker on the turnover to trail 14-3. Another interception of Stroud failed to produce any points despite both miscues coming in Houston territory.
Herbert was intercepted by Azeez Al-Shaair at the Houston 1-yard line. The ball, intended for Oronde Gadsden, popped off his hands and Al-Shaair came down with it for his second interception of the season. Gadsden held his face in his hands on the bench.
Dicker missed a field goal from under 40 yards for the first time in his career just before halftime, leaving the Chargers trailing 14-3. He later was wide left to miss his first point after attempt of the season on the Chargers’ final drive after Omarion Hamption’s five-yard TD run made it 20-16.
Ka’imi Fairbairn had field goals of 41 and 44 yards for Houston.
