Lamar Jackson broke the NFL rushing record for quarterbacks in Baltimore’s 31-2 win over the Houston Texans on Wednesday, bolstering his MVP case as the Ravens move closer to the AFC North title.
Jackson threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 87 yards and another score. He pushed his career total to 6,110 to pass Michael Vick, who had 6,109 in his 13-year career.
The Ravens (11-5) have already wrapped up their third straight homestand and need a win at Cleveland next week to clinch the division over Pittsburgh. The Steelers dropped their third straight loss to Kansas City on Wednesday.
Jackson, the MVP last season and in 2019, put on a show rivaled only by Beyoncé’s Super Bowl-caliber halftime performance to give Baltimore its third straight victory. And he needed just over three quarters to do it, handing Josh Johnson nearly 10 minutes and the game decided long.
Jackson threw 9- and 1-yard TD passes and went untouched on a 48-yard scamper that made it 24-2 in the third quarter.
Derrick Henry ran for 147 yards and set a Ravens season record with his 16th touchdown on a 2-yard run in the first quarter. He passed Ray Rice (2011) and Mark Ingram (2019).
Baltimore hosted a Houston team reeling after losing wide receiver Tank Dell to a season-ending knee injury on Saturday.
The AFC South champions struggled to close out games and got their only points safely in the second quarter. CJ Stroud threw for 185 yards, but was sacked five times and threw a touchdown and Joe Mixon had a 26-yard run as the Texans (9-7) lost their second straight.
Rookie Kamari Lassiter brought down Henry for a 4-yard loss with a safety about 10 minutes into the first half to cut the lead to 10-2.
Dameon Pierce then returned the kickoff 45 yards to get the Texans to their 43. But they came up empty when Mixon was stopped at the 1 after catching a short pass on 4th and 3.
Jackson then orchestrated a 99-yard drive to take the lead. He scrambled to escape the pursuit and found Mark Andrews for a 67-yard gain to get the Ravens into the red zone with more than two minutes left in the first half.
Isaiah’s 9-yard TD reception two plays later made it 17-2. It was the first 17-2 halftime streak in NFL history.
Kyle Hamilton intercepted Stroud’s first pass in the second half. Two plays later, Jackson’s long TD made it 24-2.
He set the rushing record on a 6-yard run on Baltimore’s next drive. Later in the drive, he scrambled to elude multiple defenders before finding Andrews for a 1-yard score to leave Baltimore up 31-2.
Injury
Ravens RB Rasheen Ali injured his hip in the third quarter and did not return. … Texans TE Cade Stover is back after missing two games following an emergency appendectomy.
Next
The Ravens host the Browns, and the Texans visit the Titans next weekend. Match dates have not been decided yet.
It is reported by the Associated Press.
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