Derrick Henry is now in the top 10 on the NFL’s all-time rushing list.
The Ravens running back had a 5-yard run with 1:57 remaining in the first quarter, moving him past Tony Dorsett and into 10th place. Dorsett had 12,739 yards for the Cowboys (1977-87) and Broncos (1988).
Henry entered Saturday’s game with 12,676 yards.
He already has 82 yards on 15 carries tonight, and more importantly, two touchdowns.
Henry’s 3-yard touchdown run gave the Ravens a 7-0 lead, and after the Packers scored in two plays, he scored on a 1-yard run for a 14-7 lead.
The Ravens went 74 yards in 13 plays on their second drive.
Henry now will take aim at Eric Dickerson, who is ninth on the all-time rushing list with 13,259 yards.
The Ravens ran it down the field for a touchdown, taking 8:01 off the clock. The Packers matched them on the scoreboard but needed only two plays and 1:11.
Malik Willis, who is starting at quarterback for Jordan Love, threw a 40-yard pass to Romeo Doubs on the first play from scrimmage for the Packers. After back-to-back pre-snap penalties on the Packers, Willis found Christian Watson for a 39-yard score.
Just like that, it was 7-7.
Willis becomes a free agent in March, so this is another chance for him to show he deserves a starting opportunity.
In limited action with Green Bay over two seasons, Willis entered Saturday having completed 76.5 percent of his passes for 684 yards and five touchdowns with the Packers.
Derrick Henry didn’t get much love from the Ravens at the end of last week’s game, not seeing the ball in the final 12:50 of the 28-24 loss to the Patriots. He saw it plenty on the first drive Saturday night.
The Ravens running back had seven carries for 48 yards on the opening drive, including a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Ravens went 75 yards in 13 plays, 10 of them runs, and used up 8:05 of the first quarter.
Tyler Huntley, who is starting in place of Lamar Jackson, ran for 12 yards on two carries and went 3-for-3 for 15 yards. Mark Andrews caught two passes for 15 yards.
Henry now has 1,301 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns this season.
Tyler Huntley and Malik Willis officially will be the quarterbacks in tonight’s game.
Lamar Jackson is among the Ravens’ inactives after being doubtful to play against the Packers. Green Bay had already ruled out starting quarterback Jordan Love.
Jackson did not practice this week with a back contusion that knocked him out of the Week 16 game against the Patriots.
The Ravens’ other inactives are wide receiver Tylan Wallace, cornerback Keyon Martin, offensive tackle Joseph Noteboom and defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles.
Besides Love, who has a left shoulder injury and a concussion, the Packers’ other inactives are defensive lineman Collin Oliver, offensive lineman Zach Tom (back/knee), wide receiver Savion Williams (foot/illness), defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse and defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell.
Malik Willis, who was questionable with a right shoulder injury and an illness, will start for the Packers.
Safety Evan Williams (knee) returns after missing last week’s game with his injury.
The 2022 draft produced nine quarterbacks. Only one, the last player taken of all, has become a consistent starter and potential franchise quarterback.
There’s another quarterback other than Brock Purdy who has, in far more limited opportunities, shown that he can perhaps become a consistent QB1, somewhere.
Packers quarterback Malik Willis, who’ll start an important Saturday night game against the Ravens, played well in Week 16, after Jordan Love left with a concussion caused by an illegal hit. Willis completed nine of 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. He added 44 rushing yards on 10 attempts.
And while the 16-6 lead he helped build melted into a 22-16 overtime loss, Willis played well. As he did in 2024, when he won two starts after Love suffered a knee injury near the end of a Week 1 loss to the Eagles. In seven total appearances last year, Willis completed 74.1 percent of his passes, with an average gain per attempt of 10.2 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 124.8. Willis also gained 138 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Not bad for a guy who fell to round three, taken after Kenny Pickett and Desmond Ridder. Willis had three starts as a rookie, with two losses and unimpressive passing numbers (50.8 completion percentage, no touchdowns, three interceptions, 4.5 yards per attempt, passer rating of 42.8). He played very sparingly in 2023, with Ryan Tannehill and Will Levis splitting the 17 regular-season starts.
The odd man out behind Mason Rudolph and Levis in 2024, the Titans offloaded Willis in late August for a seventh-round pick.
Now, after two years with the Packers, Willis is two regular-season games (plus the extent of Green Bay’s postseason) from a shot at the open market. The Packers would surely love to keep him around as Love’s understudy. How can other teams not be taking a serious look at him as a guy who can at least compete for a starting job?
Wherever it goes from here, Willis is in line for a significant bump over his $1.1 million salary in 2025. And he’ll get another shot, in prime time, to add even more to his looming payday for 2025.
In an offseason that won’t have many capable free-agent quarterbacks with starting experience, Willis could be the most intriguing. He can add even more intrigue to the coming quarterback carousel on Saturday night.
