Ravens make NFL history after Harbaugh decision to tie record
John Harbaugh felt tying an NFL rushing record was meaningful for the Ravens, though his quarterback Lamar Jackson appeared to disagree.
The Baltimore Ravens tied the NFL record for most consecutive 100-yard rushing games after head coach John Harbaugh made a conscious decision to keep a "meaningful" streak alive.
With a 23-7 win over the Denver Broncos already in hand, the Ravens could have taken a knee in the final seconds but, three yards shy of tying the Pittsburgh Steelers' record of 43 successive games with at least 100 rushing yards, Baltimore elected to call a designed run for quarterback Lamar Jackson, who duly picked up five to keep their run intact.
Though moving to 3-1 on the season was of chief importance, Harbaugh felt the achievement of equaling the rushing record had a significance that influenced his decision.
Harbaugh: "It's a very, very tough record to accomplish"
"One hundred per cent my call," Harbaugh said. "That's one of those things that's meaningful.
"It's one of those things that, as a head coach, you've got to be mindful of your team and your players and your coaches and what it means to them.
"It's a very, very tough record to accomplish and it's a long-term record. I'm not going to say it's more important than winning the game, for sure. It's certainly not.
"But as a head coach, I think you do that for your players and you do that for your coaches and that's something they'll have for the rest of their lives."
Jackson, who threw for 316 yards and a touchdown, had a relatively quiet day on the ground, finishing with just 28 yards rushing.
Despite his coach's words, statistics and records clearly mean little to the 2019 MVP.
"I'm happy we got the [win]," Jackson said. "I'm not going to lie. I didn't even care about the record."
The Ravens can break the record next Monday when they host the 1-3 Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.