The Ravens’ 355-pound lineman makes an interception and wins the division title in a win against the Browns
Baltimore Ravens defensive end Michael Pierce intercepted the first pass of his NFL career Saturday to seal a big win against the Cleveland Browns.
Pierce came up with a big pick The Browns attack in the red zone with the Ravens in the plus 35-10.
Pierce dropped to the net, positioned his 355-pound body in front of Browns running back Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s pass and brought it in. He fumbled with the ball a bit before rolling down and ending the play, allowing his offense to run out of time. out.
The Ravens were celebrating their second straight NFC North title when it was over.
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Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on January 4, 2025 in Baltimore. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Ravens (12-5) will open the playoffs at home against the Los Angeles Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore was two games behind the Steelers in the division before winning the final four and finishing on top.
Cleveland (3-14) ended a terrible season with six straight losses. Both Bailey Zappe and Thompson-Robinson caught a quarterback in the final. Neither could move the ball much, and Zappe returned a pass 26 yards for a touchdown by rookie Nate Wiggins for the game’s first points.
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The Ravens’ biggest concern coming into this game was the health of Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers, who left in the second quarter with a right knee injury.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw touchdown passes to Mark Andrews in the second quarter and Rashod Bateman in the third quarter, capping a spectacular season that could earn him a third MVP award.
Jackson finished the season with 4,172 yards passing, 41 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. He became the first running back to reach 4,000 passing yards with 40 TD passes and four or fewer interceptions.
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Cleveland Browns’ D’Onta Foreman (27) tackles Baltimore Ravens’ Roquan Smith (0) during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on January 4, 2025 in Baltimore. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Jackson finished the season with 915 rushing yards, becoming the first to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for at least 800. His passer rating of 119.6 was not quite enough to break the single-season record of 122.5 held by Aaron Rodgers.
Zappe threw for 170 yards with two interceptions. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Akins made it 21-10 in the fourth, but the Ravens answered with a 70-yard drive that ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry.
Henry, who turned 31 on Saturday, added a 43-yard run late in the fourth. He finished the season with 1,921 rushing yards and a franchise-record 16 rushing touchdowns.
Cleveland has now gone 28 straight games without a 300-yard pass. Jackson finished 16 of 32 for 217 yards.
Associates Press contributed to this report.
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