The Baltimore Ravens finally stopped the slide, with a 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears that keeps their faint playoff hopes alive.
Once again, without Lamar Jackson, it was Tyler Huntley who got the start, and going 17 of 22 for 186 yards and a touchdown, plus 53 yards rushing for good measure.
Derrick Henry rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns from his 21 attempts (3.4 yards per carry), while it was Zay Flowers (63 yards) and Rashod Bateman (52 yards) who helped move the ball down the field for Todd Monken's unit.
In total, the Ravens' offense piled on 355 total yards en route to a season-saving win, and Henry knows how crucial it was to get it.
“A great start coming off of the bye week,” Henry said. “Guys just focused and refreshed and ready to get to work, and I think it showed today. Proud of everybody on this team, all the coaches, all my teammates. It's a hell of a win by us to get us jump-starting to going what we want to do. But we just focus on this one being one and 0, and that's what we did.”
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Ravens keep season alive with Bears win
At 2-5, the Ravens still, for most, aren't in playoff contention, but what the win over the Bears did was keep them afloat until Lamar returns...whenever that is.
But to score 30 points without Jackson, and to have Henry running the ball as he was, coupled with a few offensive weapons getting rolling, there is now some positivity that this season might be salvageable.
Granted, most of that positivity stems from Lamar returning, which many thought would be against the Bears, but Huntley did his job and did it well.
Now, after snapping their horror losing streak, the Ravens will look forward to hopefully having Jackson back next week, and the charge back towards the postseason can begin.
Yes, it's a long way, but it starts with a single step, and one that was taken against Chicago.
More Ravens news:
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- Ravens' Derrick Henry passes Walter Payton on storied NFL record list
- When is Lamar Jackson coming back? Hamstring recovery timeline, return date for Ravens star QB
- Why Lamar Jackson isn't playing today for Ravens vs. Bears with latest injury return news