The Baltimore Ravens have kept their hopes for an AFC North title game in the regular-season finale alive.
By taking down the Green Bay Packers 41-24 Saturday night at Lambeau Field, Baltimore (8-8) needs the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose Sunday to the Cleveland Browns to set up a winner-take-all game for the AFC North in Week 18. The Ravens’ only path to the playoffs is by winning that game.
The Packers (9-6-1), who’ve already clinched a playoff berth, have now lost three straight games.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Todd Monken got the memo, and the Ravens – and Derrick Henry – rolled
Monken, the Ravens’ offensive coordinator, came under fire this past week after Henry didn’t play a snap after the 12:50 mark in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss to the Patriots. It was especially baffling because he was running the ball well – the star running back had 18 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Coach John Harbaugh had even chimed in postgame, saying he wanted Henry on the field.
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Well, Saturday’s game made clear that Monken received the message — and it helped Baltimore dominate Green Bay to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Henry posted a career-high 36 carries for 216 yards and four touchdowns in Saturday’s win. He had 106 yards and three scores on 21 carries (5.0 yards per attempt) by halftime.
It marked Henry’s seventh career 200-yard rushing game, and his first since 2022.
The Packers were simply overwhelmed upfront, allowing a season-high 307 rushing yards. Green Bay had already given up a season-high in rushing yards at halftime, at which point Baltimore had 175.
2. Malik Willis made himself a lot of money
Willis has played well in relief of quarterback Jordan Love since being acquired by Green Bay ahead of the 2024 season, but he took his play to a whole new level Saturday night.
The former Titans third-round pick completed 85.7% of his passes for a career-high 288 yards and a touchdown and added nine carries for 60 yards and another two scores. Despite the loss, it was a masterclass in dual-threat quarterbacking from Willis, who had four completions of 30-plus yards and scored his two rushing touchdowns off zone-read plays.
Willis is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Green Bay will surely do whatever it takes to keep him as Love’s backup, but expect several teams to be in the running for his services — even those who will give him a chance to win a QB1 role in an open competition.
3. Baltimore’s pass D continued to unravel
A week after giving up 394 passing yards to Drake Maye and the Patriots’ offense, the Ravens had no answer for Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis.
Willis, who finished the game completing nearly 86% of his passes, completed his first 11 passes and missed just three for the game. Four completions gained at least 30 yards, and two came on Green Bay’s opening possession, including a 39-yard touchdown to wide receiver Christian Watson up the seam. There appeared to be a miscommunication between Ravens star linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton on the scoring play, speaking to how even the best players on Baltimore’s defense have been susceptible to the issues plaguing the unit.
4. Micah Parsons’ absence is clearly impacting the Packers
Green Bay’s run defense was bad Saturday night, but its inability to affect backup quarterback Tyler Huntley was also problematic. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s unit sacked Huntley just once.
Yes, Huntley gets the ball out of his hands quickly. The Ravens didn’t put up gaudy passing numbers by any means, either (107 net passing yards). But it’s not difficult to imagine better quarterbacks taking advantage of the Packers’ inability to generate pressure in the playoffs.
The loss of Parsons, who tore his ACL in Week 15 against the Broncos, has clearly hurt this Green Bay defense in a major way. The Packers have just one sack since that Denver game.
4 ½. What’s next?
By losing Saturday night, the Packers are locked into the NFC’s No. 7 seed. They needed to win out and the Bears to lose out over the final two weeks to win the NFC North. Green Bay will close the regular season at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18.
The Ravens won’t know whether their Week 18 game against the Steelers is for the AFC North until Pittsburgh plays Cleveland on Sunday. If the Steelers win in Week 17, they’ll be the AFC North champion and the Ravens will be eliminated from playoff contention.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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