Denver defense has met its match as Lamar outdueling triple-threat Nix for 24-10 halftime lead

BALTIMORE — In a highly entertaining battle of dual-threat quarterbacks, Broncos’ rookie Bo Nix displayed greater athleticism than the Ravens’ incomparable Lamar Jackson.

Nix, in fact, showed off a triple-threat game as he passed, ran and caught a 2-yard touchdown throw from receiver Courtland Sutton.

But Lamar only needed to show off one trick – his arm – and finished off his drives better than the Broncos did and the Ravens went into halftime leading, 24-10 on a bright, comfortable early November Sunday afternoon before 71,051 fans at M&T Stadium.

The Broncos were in the game most of the first half, though, thanks to Nix. He has thrown for 159 yards, rushed for 27 off three carries (before a end-of-half kneeldown), and had the 2-yard touchdown catch in which he went off the ground to out-position a defender and snag Sutton’s pass at the goal line.

But Jackson had 208 yards passing and two touchdowns off a highly efficient 11 of 12 passing. Zay Flowers caught both touchdowns – one from 7 yards  and the other on  53-yard play with 16 seconds left in the first half as Denver’s secondary did a poor job of tackling and pursuing.

As a runner, Jackson was tackled by Nik Bonitto for an 8-yard loss on his only run. And no, Lamar didn’t have a reception. But even with missing practices Wednesday and Thursday to rest his battered body, Jackson was sharp.

So why is Baltimore up two touchdowns? Nix did have a tough-luck interception on the first series and twice the Broncos’ turned the ball over on downs in Ravens’ territory. Baltimore turned those successful fourth-down stops into 10 points.

Three minutes into the second quarter, the Ravens led 10-0 thanks largely to missed opportunities by the Broncos’ offense. Nix’s first pass of the game, and the game’s second play, was a tad high on a shallow cross to receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who deflected the ball into the air for an interception.

The Ravens’ offense went backwards, though, thanks to an 11-yard sack by Denver defensive end John Franklin-Myers.

Still, early field position went to Baltimore, which pinned the Broncos back to their own 2-yard line on a punt. Nix moved the Broncos out to the Ravens’ side of the field with a nice 26-yard completion to Courtland Sutton, who ran a deep stop and turn around. But on third and 1 from the Baltimore 44, Nix was stopped short on a sneak and running back Javonte Williams on fourth down couldn’t get to the right edge and was tackled short on a pitch right.

From there, Jackson moved the Ravens downfield through the air until running back Derrick Henry finished off the drive with back-to-back, 7-yard runs. Henry’s touchdown was the 100th of his career, moving him past Barry Sanders and into 10th place on the NFL’s all-time list.

On the Broncos’ next drive, again they turned the ball over on downs. On fourth and 4 from the Baltimore 33, Nix went deep to his rookie college teammate Troy Franklin, who was wide open down the left side. Touchdown? Nope. Nix overthrew him. Ravens ball at their own 33 and Jackson led them into easy field goal range for Justin Tucker, who converted from 33 yards for a 10-0 lead.

But Nix was just getting warmed up. He hit Franklin across the middle for 19 yards, then scrambled for 15. He hit Sutton for 10 yards to the Ravens’ 11, then threw a pylon pass to Sutton, who drew a pass-interference penalty on Brandon Stevens, setting up first and goal from the 1.

It became third and goal at the 2. Nix had Humphrey wide open in the back of the end zone but threw way too high. Incomplete.

Fourth and goal at the 2. Payton called for a reverse pass, Williams pitched to Sutton who came from left to right and threw to Nix, who made a contested catch at the goal line for a touchdown. Nix now has 8 touchdowns passing, 4 rushing and one receiving.

It was 10-7 Baltimore with 7:15 left in the first half.

But the Denver defense had met its match in the Baltimore offense. Entering the game, Vance Joseph’s defense was ranked No. 3 in scoring, allowing just 15.0 points per game. The Lamar Jackson-led Ravens’ offense, though, was No. 1 in scoring with 30.3 points per game. Jackson started the next drive with a 23-yard completion to Zay Flowers and finished it with a scrambling 7-yard touchdown to Flowers, who shook Broncos’ nickelback Ja’Quan McMillian on the play.

It was 17-7 Ravens with less than 4 minutes remaining in the first half.

Nix came back with two clutch plays. On third and 10 from his own 30, he sat back in a clean pocket and with all kinds of time, waited for Sutton to separate from the Ravens’ zone coverage. Complete for 33 yards. Then on second and 8, Nix scrambled ahead for 12 yards, setting up a first down at the Ravens’ 23.

But Baltimore needed just two plays, plus a holding penalty on Broncos’ cornerback Riley Moss, and 38 seconds to travel 70 yards for a tack-on score with seconds left in the half. Jackson hit Flowers deep across the middle, who broke one tackle, then got a terrific downfield block to dance into the end zone.