(AUDACY) With the Ravens holding an insurmountable 23-7 lead late against the Broncos on Sunday, most anticipated that Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson would take a knee to run the clock out on the final play. But instead of coming out in the victory formation in the waning seconds, the Ravens surprisingly ran another play with Jackson scrambling for five yards on a keeper around the left side.
That play pushed Baltimore over the century mark in rushing yards, tying the NFL record of 43 straight games with at least 100 yards rushing. The Broncos coaching staff seemed taken aback, flabbergasted the Ravens would risk injury by running another play instead of bleeding out the clock as most teams would have.
When asked of the incident in his press conference Monday, Broncos coach Vic Fangio was still fuming, calling the stunt “bulls---.”
“I thought it was kind of bulls---, but I expected it from them,” Fangio said “Thirty-seven years in pro ball, I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Fangio was angry about the Ravens pursuing the obscure milestone, but he wasn't surprised, stating that's simply how they conduct business.
“I just know how they operate,” said Fangio, who served as both a defensive assistant and linebackers coach under John Harbaugh in Baltimore more than a decade ago. “That’s just their mode of operation there. Player safety is secondary.”
Harbaugh defended his decision after the game, calling the Ravens’ streak of 100-yard rushing games “meaningful.” However, Jackson didn't seem to share that opinion.
“I’m not going to lie, I don’t really care about the record,” Jackson admitted to Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about winning the game.”
The Broncos and Ravens aren’t scheduled to play again this season, though if the AFC rivals end up meeting in the playoffs, it would be riveting television.
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