Baltimore Ravens Tie Rushing Record Amid Controversy

The Baltimore Ravens have been the best running team in NFL history since Lamar Jackson took over at QB, with a streak of 42 straight games with over 100 rushing yards, coming into Sunday’s contest. With about three seconds remaining in the game against the Denver Broncos, they sat at 97 rushing yards. Instead of kneeling out the clock, they opted to preserve the rushing record, and Jackson gained five rushing yards on a sweep play.

This play has been up for debate since Sunday, with each coach making remarks about it. Coach John Harbaugh had this to say: “One hundred percent my call. That’s one of those things that’s meaningful. It’s one of those things that, as a head coach, you’ve got to be mindful of your team and your players and your coaches and what it means to them. It’s a very, very tough record to accomplish and it’s a long-term record. I’m not going to say it’s more important than winning the game, for sure. It’s certainly not. But as a head coach, I think you do that for your players and you do that for your coaches and that’s something they’ll have for the rest of their lives.”

Jackson himself wasn’t so worried about the record, which he’s helped spearhead. “I’m happy we got the [win],” Jackson said. “I’m not going to lie. I didn’t even care about the record.”

Broncos coach Vic Fangio, understandably, had a different response to the Ravens’ decision to run on the final play, and he didn’t hold back Monday when asked for his thoughts. “I thought it was bull—-, but I expected that from them,” he said. “In 37 years of pro ball, I’ve never seen anything like that. But it was to be expected, and we expected it.”

The Ravens can break the 100-yard rushing record next Monday night against an Indianapolis Colts defense that has allowed 114 yards per game and 4.2 yards per attempt on the ground through four games.