Ravens Clips
Ravens running back Derrick Henry didn’t point fingers at anyone else after Sunday’s loss to the Browns.
Henry fumbled with the Ravens leading the Browns 10-3 with over 12 minutes to play and Cleveland drove for a game-tying touchdown after that takeaway. They’d miss a field goal on their next drive, but Andre Szmyt got another chance after the Browns forced a punt and he made it for a 13-10 home win.
After the game, Henry said that everyone should feel free to put the blame for the loss squarely on his shoulders.
“I told the team I put this on me,” Henry said. “I just have to be better. I can’t put the team in that situation. . . . Just going back and trying to fight for yards. [With] my momentum [and] his momentum, he ended up pulling it out. I have to take care of the ball. No excuses for that. I have to be better. [I] put the team in harm’s way. I sound like a broken record with this, but I have to go back and work on it.”
Henry’s fumble was a major turning point, but the game was close enough to hinge on that error because the Ravens punted five straight times and missed a field goal after going up 10-0 in the first quarter. The defense also went from allowing six first downs over eight possessions to giving up eight of them on the final three Browns drives.
It will be for others to point that out inside the Ravens’ locker room as long as Henry wants to raise his hand as the guy behind the loss.
The Cleveland Browns are in first place.
Led by a strong defensive performance, the Browns were able to defeat the Ravens 13-10 with a game-winning, 37-yard field goal as time expired.
Cleveland had next to nothing offensively in the first half, finishing the first 30 minutes with just 46 total yards. But the club got on the board with Andre Szmyt’s 48-yard field goal to cap the first drive of the second half.
Then Derrick Henry fumbled in Baltimore territory early in the fourth quarter, which Cleveland recovered at the 35-yard line.
Audric Estime — who just joined the team this week — paid that off with a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 10-10.
While Andre Szmyt missed a 48-yard field goal to take the lead wide left with 3:44 remaining in the fourth quarter, he was able to get redemption with a game-winning 37-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.
Szmyt had made 25 consecutive field goals dating back to last season before his miss.
Jerry Jeudy had the big catch to set up the game-winning field goal, taking a catch 33 yards on third-and-5 to the Baltimore 29. He led the Browns with four catches for 69 yards.
Deshaun Watson was 16-of-26 for 164 yards. He also had 29 yards on eight carries.
On the other side, the Browns limited Derrick Henry to just 58 yards on 17 carries with a lost fumble. Tyler Huntley was 19-of-31 for 165 yards with a touchdown, also rushing for 28 yards.
With the win, the Browns are now 4-2 and own a share of first place this late in the season for the first time since 2014. They will be on the road to face the Titans next week.
Also at 4-2, the Ravens will be at home to face the Bengals in Week 7.
Baltimore’s defense has dominated Cleveland’s offense through two quarters, with the Ravens leading 10-0 at halftime.
Starting for the second week in a row for the injured Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley capped Baltimore’s first possession with a 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Josh Cuevas.
Tyler Loop then ended Baltimore’s second drive with a 34-yard field goal to give his team a 10-point advantage.
Huntley is 14-of-21 for 107 yards with a touchdown at halftime. He’s also rushed three times for 22 yards.
Derrick Henry — who became the fourth player in league history to rush for 4,000 yards with two teams — has rushed for 41 yards on 11 attempts.
The Browns had just one first down and 7 total yards at the end of the first quarter. They were able to get a couple more in the second quarter, but still finished with just 46 total yards.
Deshaun Watson is 3-of-9 passing for 24 yards. He’s looked uncomfortable in the pocket, holding onto the ball before getting hit or sacked, with Baltimore bringing him down three times in the first half.
Jerry Jeudy has two of Watson’s completions for 23 yards.
Notably, Baltimore receiver Rashod Bateman is questionable to return with a shoulder injury.
Browns safety Grant Delpit is out due to a concussion.
Cleveland will receive the second-half kickoff.
Derrick Henry has reached another milestone in his storied career.
Via Henry Gold of NFL Research, Henry has become the fourth player in league history to rush for at least 4,000 yards with multiple teams.
Henry accomplished the feat on his first carry of Sunday’s game against the Browns, taking the ball 11 yards. He entered the day with 3,992 yards rushing with the Ravens after tallying 9,502 yards in eight seasons with Tennessee.
Henry is in his third year with the Ravens.
The others to accomplish 4,000 yards with multiple teams are Eric Dickerson (Rams and Colts), Marshall Faulk (Colts and Rams), and Warrick Dunn (Buccaneers and Falcons).
The Ravens lead the Browns 10-0 in the second quarter.
The Ravens have taken an early lead over the Browns.
Tyler Huntley connected with tight end Josh Cuevas for the first touchdown of the rookie’s career.
Cuevas got wide open in the back of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal. The score capped an 11-play, 66-yard opening drive that took 6:49 off the clock.
Derrick Henry already has five carries for 30 yards.
Huntley was 4-of-4 for 27 yards on the opening possession with the TD.
Browns safety Grant Delpit went down midway through the first drive and is being evaluated for a concussion.
Signs have pointed to Bears quarterback Caleb Williams making his return from a hamstring injury all week and it became official on Sunday morning.
Williams is active for the team’s 1 p.m. ET game in Atlanta. Williams missed three games after being injured in Chicago’s Week 2 loss to the Vikings and was listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report, but he was a full participant in practice all this week and he posted a comeback-themed video to social media on Friday night.
Michael Penix will be the other quarterback on Sunday. Penix was forced out of last weekend’s loss to the Ravens with injured ribs, but he was also a full practice participant and he had no injury designation.
Bears at Falcons
Bears: RB Kyle Monangai, CB Tyrique Stevenson, LB T.J. Edwards, LB Keyshaun Elliott, OL Jordan McFadden, DL Jayden Loving, QB Case Keenum
Falcons: QB Cooper Rush, QB Jack Strand, CB C.J. Henderson, DB Malcolm DeWalt, LB Christian Harris, OL Ethan Onianwa, DE Drake Jackson
Ravens at Browns
Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson, C Cam Jurgens, DT Broderick Washington, TE Matt Hibner, WR Elijah Sarratt, G Andrew Vorhees, S K’Von Wallace
Browns: RB Quinshon Judkins, QB Taylen Green, CB Noah Igbinoghene, DT Mike Hall Jr., C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins, DT Mason Graham
Titans at Colts
Titans: CB Alontae Taylor, S Kevin Winston, OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, RB Nick Singleton, DL Jackie Marshall, DL Jordan Elliott
Colts: LB Jaylon Carlies, WR Ashton Dulin, QB Riley Leonard, G Dalton Tucker, TE Tyler Warren
Jets at Patriots
Jets: RB Breece Hall, DL Jack Heflin, WR Adonai Mitchell, LB Joseph Ossai, G Dylan Parham, CB Nahshon Wright
Patriots: QB Behren Morton, TE Tanner Arkin, OT Dametrious Crownover, CB Carlton Davis, CB Karon Prunty, CB Channing Canada
Saints at Giants
Saints: QB Zach Wilson, LB Anfernee Jennings, S Mike Reid, LB Kaden Elliss, DL Nathan Shepherd, DL John Ridgeway
Giants: CB Colton Hood, QB Jake Haener, S Tyler Nubin, OT Jermaine Eluemunor, TE Theo Johnson, DL C.J. Okoye
Panthers at Eagles
Panthers: OT Monroe Freeling, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, RB AJ Dillon, G Torricelli Simpkins, OT Albert Reese, DT TeRah Edwards
Eagles: WR Hollywood Brown, QB Joe Milton, RB Saquon Barkley, DB Michael Carter, LB A.J. Epenesa, LB Jalyx Hunt
Steelers at Buccaneers
Steelers: WR Ben Skowronek, QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, RB Eli Heidenreich, CB Terell Smith, DL Kevin Jobity
Buccaneers: DL DeMonte Capehart, G Luke Haggard, QB Baker Mayfield, CB Benjamin Morrison, G Billy Schrauth, RB Sean Tucker, S Antoine Winfield Jr.
The NFL confirmed that Jets safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was fined for his hit on a defenseless KC Concepcion in the Jets’ Week 5 win over the Browns and they announced five other players were fined for the player safety fouls that count toward potential suspensions.
Fitzpatrick said this week that he plans to appeal the $17,911 fine for the hit, which knocked Concepcion out of the game with a concussion. Concepcion has cleared concussion protocol and is set to play against the Ravens in Week 6.
Fitzpatrick was also fined $11,941 for tackling Concepcion by the facemask earlier in the game.
Colts linebacker Austin Ajiake and 49ers safety Malik Mustapha were also fined for hits on defenseless players. Ajiake’s fine was $5,583 and Mustapha’s was $6,998.
Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike ($17,911), Lions defensive end D.J. Wonnum ($12,611), and Titans cornerback Micah Robinson ($5,583) were all fined for hip-drop tackles.
It is the first infraction for each player. Any player who is fined three times for one of five player safety rules — horse-collar tackles, launching and blindside blocks are the others — is subject to a one-game suspension.
On Sunday, Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley will make his 19th career NFL start (including playoffs). For the Ravens, he’s 6-7 with three straight wins.
On Friday, Browns safety Grant Delpit addressed some of the similarities between Huntley and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson. Delpit then was asked to identify the biggest difference.
“One is Lamar Jackson,” Delpit said.
He’s right. But Huntley has proven to be capable. Last week, he completed 24 of 32 passes for 201 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He added 20 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.
So while he’s not Lamar (no one is), Huntley can do enough. Delpit’s acknowledgement of the obvious could give Huntley a little extra incentive to prove that the gap may not be quite as large as Delpit thinks.
The stakes are high. A win by Cleveland (which would be their fourth straight in the AFC North, a first since 1987) would tie the Ravens and Browns at 4-2. A loss would give Baltimore a two-game lead over the Browns and the first half of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
One of the basic realities of life in the NFL is that each team is assigned to a division with three other teams, permanently. (Until there’s a reason to realign, which last happened in 2002.) And whether a team is in a good division or a bad division controls much of a team’s success, or not, in a given year.
Of the 17 games played, six of them are determined by the division to which it is assigned. If the other teams are really good, it makes it harder for an otherwise good team to be as good as it can be. If the other teams aren’t very good, it’s easier.
The fact that this is so obvious shows how fundamentally unfair it is. It can give some lesser teams a shot at hosting a playoff game. It can give the one good team in an otherwise bad division a chance to win enough games to emerge as the top seed in a conference (for example, the Patriots throughout most of the 2010s).
This year, the teams of the AFC and NFC North will each have a tougher road to whatever their best-case scenario could be, based simply on membership in a predetermined division. All of them are over .500 through five weeks.
Via NBC Sports research, a full division has been above .500 after six weeks only three times since 2002 (the 2025 NFC North, the 2024 NFC North, and the 2005 NFC East). Depending on how this weekend goes, both the AFC North and NFC North can turn that list of three into five.
The Vikings, Lions, and Bengals are off, so the six-week hay is in the barn as to each of them. To complete the feat, the 3-2 Browns need to beat the 4-1 Ravens, the 3-2 Bears need to beat the Falcons, the 3-2 Packers need to beat the Cowboys, and the 3-2 Steelers need to beat the Buccaneers.
If the Bears and Packers win, it’ll be the third straight year that every team in the NFC North is above .500 through six weeks. Which will make it harder for each of them to get to wherever they want to be.
That will likely change when the NFL expands the regular season to 18 games and seeds the playoff tree without regard to whether a team has won its division. That still won’t solve the problem, and it will bolster the argument that there should be no divisions at all. Or, alternatively, that the two games per year against each of the other teams in the division should become one game per year.
The point for now is that each of the four teams in the AFC North and NFC North could end up being objectively playoff-worthy in 2026, but playing six games against those other teams will make it harder to qualify. Meanwhile, someone from the NFC South will be winning the division and hosting a playoff game — even if (like last year) none of them ends up at or above .500.
The entire approach makes it harder for the NFL to honor sports’ most basic, longstanding message: “May the best team win.” Given the way the NFL arranges its teams, the best team could end up with roadblocks that the not-best team won’t have to navigate. Which could make it easier for the not-best team to win the Super Bowl.
The Ravens made it official, ruling out quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Head coach Jesse Minter said during his news conference on Friday morning that Jackson wouldn’t play. Tyler Huntley will start for the Ravens on Sunday.
It is the second consecutive game Jackson will miss due to his ankle injury.
The Ravens also ruled out tight end Matthew Hibner (hand), center Cam Jurgens (concussion) and defensive tackle Broderick Washington (ankle).
Offensive guard Emery Jones Jr. (ankle), wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist) and offensive guard Andrew Vorhees (foot) are questionable. Lane is in his 21-day return-to-practice window.
