BALTIMORE — The Ravens clinched a playoff berth Saturday, relying on their defense and ground game to hold off the Atlanta Falcons, 17-9.
Led by running back Gus Edwards (11 carries for 99 yards), the Ravens rushed 34 times for 184 yards (5.4 per carry). A 5-yard plunge by Edwards for a first down with just under two minutes remaining extinguished Atlanta’s hopes inside a frigid M&T Bank Stadium. It was just 17 degrees at kickoff, the coldest weather for a Ravens home game in franchise history.
After missing the postseason last year, the Ravens (10-5) clinched a playoff berth with the victory and some outside help. After the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the New York Jets on Thursday, the Ravens needed only a loss Saturday by the New England Patriots to the Cincinnati Bengals or a loss Sunday by the Miami Dolphins to the Green Bay Packers to punch their ticket. The Bengals obliged, holding off a late Patriots rally for a 22-18 win to maintain their one-game lead in the AFC North.
Huntley, making his third straight start in place of injured starter Lamar Jackson (knee), was more caretaker than playmaker against a leaky Falcons (5-10) defense. He had 11 carries for 26 yards — including three scrambles, plus a fumble the Ravens recovered — and finished 9-for-17 passing for 115 yards and a touchdown, with most of the production coming in the first half. Tight end Mark Andrews had three catches for 45 yards.
Against a Ravens defense missing defensive lineman Calais Campbell and cornerback Marcus Peters, Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder finished 22-for-33 passing for 218 yards. Rookie wide receiver Drake London had seven catches for 96 yards, while rookie running back Tyler Allgeier had 18 carries for 74 yards (4.1 per carry).
Red-zone execution marred the Ravens’ offense, but a goal-line stop by their defense helped put the game away. With about nine minutes left, the Falcons were at the Ravens’ 4-yard line, trailing by just nine.
But Allgeier stumbled awkwardly on a second-down handoff from the 2, scuttling a possible touchdown with a run that went for nothing. Ridder scrambled for a yard on third-and-goal. And on fourth-and-goal from the 1, inside linebacker Patrick Queen and defensive tackle Isaiah Mack helped drop Allgeier for a 1-yard loss.
A week after abandoning the run in the fourth quarter of a 13-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens didn’t overthink things on offense. Their first touchdown in eight quarters came at the end of a 13-play, 70-yard, second-quarter drive during which Huntley attempted just two passes.
One of them, a leaping 6-yard completion by wide receiver Demarcus Robinson on third-and-goal, ended the Ravens’ touchdown-less streak at 135 minutes, 8 seconds. It was also the first touchdown catch by a Ravens wide receiver since Week 3. Huntley barged his way into the end zone for the 2-point conversion and a 14-0 lead with just over two minutes left.
The Ravens otherwise relied on their defense and special teams to spot them a 14-3 halftime advantage. One of Atlanta’s longest plays of the first half, a 22-yard completion from Ridder to London on fourth-and-2 in the second quarter, ended with a turnover, as cornerback Marlon Humphrey punched the ball out and Queen recovered it and returned it to the Ravens’ 30.
An intentional-grounding call on Ridder pushed the Falcons back from the edge of the goal line in the final minute, leading to a field goal, but the Ravens could’ve had more themselves. Two red-zone drives ended with field goals by kicker Justin Tucker, and he had a 55-yarder blocked, his second field goal stopped at the line of scrimmage in as many weeks.
