Ravens' 355-pound lineman snags interception to clinch division title in victory vs. Browns
Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce intercepted the first pass of his NFL career Saturday to close out a division-sealing victory against the Cleveland Browns.
Pierce came up with the big pick with the Browns' offense in the red zone and with the Ravens up 35-10.
Pierce dropped into coverage, put his 355-pound body in front of a pass from Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and brought it in. He stumbled a bit with the ball before rolling down to end the play, allowing his offense to run the clock out.
The Ravens celebrated their second straight NFC North title when it was over.
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The Ravens (12-5) will open the playoffs at home against either the Los Angeles Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore was two games behind the Steelers in the division before winning its final four to finish on top.
Cleveland (3-14) ended a dreadful season with six straight losses. Both Bailey Zappe and Thompson-Robinson took snaps at quarterback in the finale. Neither could move the ball much, and Zappe had a pass returned 26 yards for a touchdown by rookie Nate Wiggins for the game’s first points.
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The biggest concern coming out of this game for the Ravens was the health of Pro Bowl 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, finishing a spectacular season that might earn him a third MVP award.
Jackson finished the season with 4,172 yards passing, 41 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He became the first quarterback to reach 4,000 yards passing with 40 TD passes and four or fewer interceptions.
Jackson finished the season with 915 yards rushing, becoming the first to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for at least 800. His passer rating of 119.6 wasn’t 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 scoring 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 Saturday, added a 43-yard scoring run late in the fourth. He finished the season with 1,921 yards rushing and a franchise-record 16 rushing touchdowns.
Cleveland has now gone 28 consecutive games without allowing a 300-yard passer. Jackson finished 16 of 32 for 217 yards.
The Associates Press contributed to this report.
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