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Browns didn’t do this for Ravens

BALTIMORE (AP) — The relationship between football fans in Cleveland and Baltimore has been a fraught one, to say the least.

For one day, they were on the same side.

The Ravens are still alive for the postseason after their 41-24 victory at Green Bay on Saturday night and Cleveland’s 13-6 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. Baltimore needed both of those results to avoid elimination. Now the Ravens can win the AFC North if they beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh next weekend.

“I’ve never even been that nervous playing a game. Thank you Browns,” Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar posted on social media.

The current Browns did the previous Browns quite a favor. It was Cleveland’s team that moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens in the mid-1990s, and there’s no love lost, at least on the Ohio side. But the Browns have an intense rivalry with Pittsburgh too, and they shut down the Steelers on Sunday.

After the Ravens gave them a celebratory shout-out on social media, the Browns responded: “don’t think we did this for you.”

If last week’s loss to New England was a microcosm of what went wrong for the Ravens this season, the victory over Green Bay showed what they’re still capable of. Even with quarterback Lamar Jackson out because of a back injury, Baltimore battered the Packers, outrushing them 307-79. The Ravens (8-8) controlled the ball for more than 40 minutes.

Derrick Henry rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries.

“I might be a little sore tomorrow, but I’m built for it,” Henry said after the game.

Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley was sharp, and the Ravens equaled their highest point total of the season. Since Jackson went down with a hamstring injury Sept. 28 — his first of several nagging ailments — Baltimore has reached 30 points only twice. Both times Huntley was the starter.

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