Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry put the team on his back with quarterback Lamar Jackson (back) ruled out Saturday night from Lambeau Field to lead the visiting Ravens to a 41-24 victory.
Henry took over with 216 yards rushing and a career-high four rushing touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries for 6 yards a carry. He now has seven career 200-yard rushing games, breaking a tie with Adrian Peterson and Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson for the most in NFL history. The 216 yards are also the most ever by a visiting player against the Packers. Henry also tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown for the most games with 200-plus yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns with two. He racked up 103 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, including two on Baltimore's first two drives, on 21 carries.
He now has 122 career rushing touchdowns, good for fourth-most in NFL history. Green Bay committed two major mistakes in the first half, a turnover on downs on fourth-and-inches at their own 34 and an aborted snap-fumble for a turnover in their own territory, the Ravens only came away with a combined six points off the miscues -- two field goals. A dropped pass by wide receiver Bo Melton on third-stringer Clayton Tune's first pass of the game in the fourth quarter was deflected into Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey's hands, which essentially iced the game. Tune subbed into the game when Packers fill-in quarterback Malik Willis aggravated a Week 16 right shoulder injury. Henry followed up that takeaway with his fourth and final rushing touchdown, a 25-yarder on a toss play to the left.
Willis stuffed the stat sheet as well, completing 18 of his 21 throws in place of Jordan Love (concussion) for 288 yards and a touchdown, a 39-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Christian Watson on a seam route up the middle on his second throw of the game. Willis also chipped in 60 yards, including two read option touchdown runs from 22 and 11 yards on nine carries. That made Willis the first player in Packers history with over 250 yards passing, a passing touchdown, over 50 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns in a game.
The Ravens remain alive for the AFC North title, but they need the Cleveland Browns to knock off the division-leading Steelers to force a winner-take-all game against Pittsburgh in Week 18. The Packers fall to 9-6-1, but they have already clinched a playoff spot and are now locked into the No. 7 seed in the NFC.
Takeaways
Derrick Henry is an alien
Henry is 31 years old, but he might as well have been 21 years old the way he snatched the Packers' soul on Saturday. He brought out his classic stiff arm multiple times for long runs, and it felt like every time he ran with the football, a first down, at a minimum, was about to happen. To average 6 yards a carry on 36 carries in the 30-degree temperatures at Lambeau is nothing short of incredible. It's a shame that Henry's and the Ravens' 2025 playoff dreams will likely die on Sunday as they have to rely on the Cleveland Browns (3-12) to upset the division-leading Steelers (9-6) to remain alive.
Malik Willis made himself some money
Willis, who will hit free agency ahead of his age-27 season as an unrestricted free agent in 2026, made himself some money Saturday night. Willis averaged 13.7 yards per pass attempt on Saturday, the most by any quarterback with 50 or more rushing yards in the last 50 seasons, minimum 20 pass attempts, per CBS Sports Research. Green Bay's offense experienced almost no drop-off with Love (concussion) sidelined. The sole miscue that could be attributed to Willis being in there was the miscommunication between himself and center Sean Rhyan that resulted in Rhyan snapping the ball while Willis was calling an audible. That fumble was recovered by the Ravens and turned into a 34-yard field goal. Some QB-needy team will back up the Brinks truck for Willis this offseason.
The Packers defense sorely misses Micah Parsons
Green Bay allowed 100.5 rushing yards per game in the first 15 weeks of the season when All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons was on the field, the eighth-best in the NFL. Obviously Henry's performance skews the average the last two weeks with Parsons sidelined by a torn ACL, but Green Bay is averaging 228.5 rushing yards per game in his absence since Week 16. The Packers also haven't been able to harass quarterbacks without him with just one sack the last two weeks against Caleb Williams and Tyler Huntley. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is going to have to become even more creative and aggressive with his blitz packages to make up for the loss of Parsons in the postseason.
