BALTIMORE (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns to finish with a perfect passer rating, Derrick Henry surpassed a few more rushing milestones, and the Baltimore Ravens had little difficulty with Denver’s defense in a 41-10 victory Sunday.
Baltimore’s beleaguered defense didn’t force a punt until the third quarter, but a couple early fourth-down stops helped the Ravens (6-3) build a lead as they rebounded from last weekend’s surprising loss at Cleveland. Zay Flowers had five catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and Henry rushed for 107 yards and two TDs.
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix caught a touchdown pass on a trick play for Denver, but the Broncos (5-4) looked outclassed at the beginning of a tough two-game stretch on their schedule. They visit Kansas City next weekend.
Henry scored the 100th and 101st rushing touchdowns of his career, and he surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground on the season for the sixth time. Henry has scored in every game this season, and he is the third player to manage at least 10 rushing TDs in seven consecutive years, joining LaDainian Tomlinson (2001-09) and Adrian Peterson (2007-13).
Jackson completed 16 of 19 passes. The perfect 158.3 passer rating was the fourth of his career.
Baltimore led 17-10 after a Denver field goal with 54 seconds left in the first half. Then the Ravens struck on both sides of halftime. Flowers caught a pass over the middle and took it to the end zone for a 53-yard TD with 16 seconds left in the second quarter. Baltimore got the ball to start the third and made it 31-10 on a 6-yard run by Henry.
Denver had allowed only two teams to reach 20 points this season, but the matchup with Baltimore’s powerful offense did not go well. The Broncos’ defense held after an early interception by Nix, but after Denver was stopped on fourth-and-1, the Ravens drove 57 yards and opened the scoring on Henry’s 7-yard run.
Another fourth-down failure — Nix overthrew an open Troy Franklin deep — was followed by a Baltimore field goal that made it 10-0.
The Broncos finally converted on fourth down from the Baltimore 2 with a trick play — a reverse pass from receiver Courtland Sutton to Nix. The Ravens defended it decently, but Nix was able to make the catch at the goal line for a touchdown.
Jackson answered with a 7-yard scoring pass to Flowers to put Baltimore up 17-7.
Fullback Patrick Ricard caught Jackson’s final TD toss of the day, a 3-yarder in the third.
Injuries
Baltimore CB Marlon Humphrey returned from a knee injury that kept him out last weekend. Jackson did not seem the least bit bothered by back and knee problems after missing a couple practices during the week.
Up next
Broncos: At Kansas City on Sunday.
Ravens: Host Cincinnati on Thursday night.
