BALTIMORE – When Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson moved around the pocket on a third-and-goal late in the second quarter and turned his gaze downward, there was a clear lane in front of him where he could try to score to run for a touchdown.

That's what the 71,051 spectators at M&T Bank Stadium expected from him. Many of the fans demanded it and shouted for Jackson to get off. However, Jackson had no interest in continuing that play – or any other – in the Ravens' 41-10 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. He settled for throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers.

.@Lj_era8 ➡️ @ZayFlowers FOR SIX ❗❗

Tune in to CBS! pic.twitter.com/9bMllZpHfu

– Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 3, 2024

No one would say whether that had anything to do with the knee and back injuries that limited Jackson to just one practice a week. The reality was that the Ravens didn't need Jackson to compete against the Broncos because he – and they – were doing everything else at such a high level.

“He didn’t have to (run),” said Derrick Henry, who ran a lot himself, completing 23 carries for 106 yards and two scores and a 27-yard reception. “He's dangerous with his arm and I think he showed that today. If you try to take the ball away from him while running, he will go over your head and throw it. If he has to run it, he will. Hats off to him. He's the engine that drives this thing. 'MV3.'”

Jackson, who only practiced on Friday, was again at his best, completing 16 of 19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns, for a passer rating of 158.3. It was the fourth game in his career with a perfect passer rating, setting an NFL record for Ben Roethlisberger.

“I bet Lamar will get there at some point,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I thought he played great, but also the team around him — the pass protection — is a really good pass-rush team, a really aggressive defense, a really high-level defense. Our offense got into playing as a group.”

Statistically, the Ravens had just 24 yards rushing in the first half against one of the league's best defenses, yet Baltimore still led by two touchdowns at halftime as Jackson threw for 208 yards and two scores. In case the Broncos had any comeback hopes in the second half, they were dashed by the Ravens' ground game, taking the lead with two long touchdown drives in the third quarter and the matchup between two 5-3 teams turned into a laugh. The Ravens had 103 rushing yards in the second half alone.

Go deeper

NFL Week 9 Takeaways: Is Eagles' Game Management a Big Issue? Who is the second best team in the AFC?

The Broncos entered the week averaging just 15.0 points and 282.6 yards per game. They also limited opponents to a league-low 4.4 yards per play. The Ravens scored seven straight possessions after a punt on the first series and scored 38 points with 91 seconds left in the third quarter. Justin Tucker scored a field goal just over two minutes into the fourth.

The Ravens had 396 yards of total offense and an average of 7.3 yards per play. Harbaugh held off Sean Payton's team and shut down Jackson early in the fourth quarter with a play against the Cincinnati Bengals on “Thursday Night Football” just four days away.

“I would say we played our most complete game of the season (so far) as a team,” Harbaugh said. “Our defense stepped up and played really well.”

Baltimore's defense had some of the same problems it had had most of the season. The pass rush was spotty until the second half when Denver, down by several points, had no choice but to throw the ball. There were still too many Broncos receivers available in the secondary. They also averaged over 4.0 yards per carry.

However, the Ravens flipped the script in one area: They were able to get off the field on third and fourth downs. Defensive back Ar'Darius Washington had his first career interception after a deflected pass from Bo Nix on the second play of the game. The Ravens also had four stops on fourth down and held Denver to 6-of-14 on third down.

“We're kind of scarred by our past right now and we're not trying to give up on anything at this point, so everyone had that mindset today,” said safety Kyle Hamilton, who was a 10-tackle leader. “We’ve mostly done it.”

Now the ball is in general manager Eric DeCosta's court. The trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m., and even with a solid performance on Sunday, the Ravens still looked like a team that could use a defensive addition or two, especially to better compete with the AFC heavyweights and quality offenses – like the one that will take place in Baltimore on Thursday evening.

Tavius ​​Robinson's two-sack performance on Sunday shouldn't close the door on the Ravens adding an edge rusher. Although Chris Wormley and Josh Tupou fill in on the practice squad and play a lot of snaps, the Ravens could use more help on defense. And Marcus Williams regaining his starting spot on Sunday isn't likely to ease concerns about the team's safety record.

Can DeCosta Calais get Campbell out of Miami after the Dolphins fell to 2-6 with a late loss to Buffalo on Sunday? Or how about a pass rusher like Azeez Ojulari, Za'Darius Smith, Jadeveon Clowney or Arden Key, all of whom play for teams that don't get anywhere quickly? Maybe the New Orleans Saints are ready to talk about Tyrann Mathieu after falling to 2-7 with a loss to the weak Carolina Panthers.

Go deeper

NFL trade deadline: Latest summary of team plans and potential moves

What is clear is that the Ravens have an elite offense, certainly one of the best in the NFL. It could be the best in team history. The Broncos probably wouldn't disagree with that statement after getting steamrolled on Sunday. Denver forced a punt and the Ravens' next seven drives ended in touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, field goal.

“We got beat up today,” Payton said.

It was a 10-7 game midway through the third quarter when Jackson placed 7- and 53-yard touchdown passes to Flowers around a Broncos field goal. When the Ravens took the first kickoff of the third quarter and went 70 yards in 11 plays and scored on Henry's 6-yard run, the score was 31-10.

THE KING OF THE END ZONE!

Tune in to CBS! pic.twitter.com/xLjqzvsFDm

– Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 3, 2024

“It’s a pick-the-poison offense. So based on what the defense gives me, certain players might have a day,” Jackson said after running the ball just three times for 4 yards. “A few days ago it was (Rashod Bateman) having a night out and a few weeks later it's Zay. It's really based on defending their feelings. “Who is this offense against?” But with all the great guys we have, in a game it could be the tight ends, in a game it could just be the running backs. You really never know.”

In nine games, Jackson has thrown for 2,379 yards and 20 touchdown passes with just two interceptions. After becoming the first quarterback in Ravens history to throw for more than 275 yards in five straight games, Jackson is on pace to throw for nearly 4,500 yards. His previous career high was 3,678, which he achieved last year. He is also on pace to throw 38 touchdown passes, which would also be a career high.

Henry has now rushed for 1,052 yards and scored 13 total touchdowns (11 running and two receiving). He is on pace to rush for 1,987 yards and score 32 touchdowns in his age-30 season.

And then there's Flowers, who is primed to become the first Ravens Pro Bowl receiver in franchise history. Flowers now has 46 catches for 654 yards and three touchdowns and is on pace for 1,235 receiving yards.

Scoop City Newsletter

Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign in

The Ravens still have eight regular season games left, but after performances like Sunday's, it's easy to imagine the possibilities.

“If you look at our overall performance and what we did in nine games, we did a good job of maintaining balance in the air and on the ground,” wide receiver Nelson Agholor said. “It starts with (No.) 8. Eight is the ultimate dual-threat quarterback and he has people tied up with his arm, and then he's joined by (Henry), who's a dominant tailback, and Justice (Hill ), who it is.” a very creative speed. And at the end of the day, this creates a lot of openings in the middle. We strive for balance. That’s what we do.”

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said during the week that his group needed to take something away from the Ravens and he preferred the “run game and make them throw it.”

They did this especially in the first half, and the Broncos trailed 24-10. The Ravens' offense didn't let up from there.

“Whatever 'L' needs to do to get him ready to play, he'll do that. He showed it today,” Henry said. “It took him a day (of practice) to get a perfect passer rating. I feel like it doesn’t matter if it’s a day or half a day, he’ll be ready.”

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)