Lamar Jackson threw 5 TDs against the Giants. It was also one of his top rushing games this season

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — A talking to from his mother seemed to bring out the best in Lamar Jackson.

After a loss to Philadelphia earlier this month, Jackson said his mom cursed him out, telling him he missed opportunities to run. That wasn't a problem in Sunday's 35-14 victory over the New York Giants.

Jackson's five touchdown passes were the big story, but he also ran for 65 yards on six carries. He actually rushed for more yards (79) against the Eagles, but that was only because of a late 39-yard run with the game pretty much out of reach. This past weekend was only the fourth time this season he's surpassed 60 yards rushing.

“That bye week, I felt like we all needed that, and our guys were just ready,” Jackson said. “They just blocked their tail off.”

It may be tough to surpass Josh Allen in this season's MVP race, but Jackson is certainly making a bid with a passer rating of 120.7, 34 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. Jackson's running ability has been well documented, of course, but as he's become a more potent passer, he may be a bit more prone to let plays develop instead of taking off.

That's sometimes the right move and sometimes isn't. Against the Giants, he made good decisions throughout and recovered quickly from an early fumble.

Now Baltimore (9-5) moves on to its biggest game of the season. The Ravens need a win Saturday against Pittsburgh to pull even in the AFC North race. If the Steelers win, they'd clinch the division.

“I always talk to the guys about the big picture. We talk briefly about the big picture, then we always come back to 1-0,” coach John Harbaugh said. "The big picture is this is our opportunity to win the division, and we have to win this game to have an opportunity to win the division — and then do everything we can do to be 1-0 and put our best foot forward.”

What's working

Jackson became the first player in NFL history to complete 80% of his passes for at least 250 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. He finished 21 of 25 for 290 yards and a passer rating of 154.6.

Jackson is also up to 6,001 yards rushing. He's closing in on Mike Vick's record for a quarterback of 6,109.

What needs help

Baltimore had 12 more penalties for 112 yards, continuing a season-long problem. Defensive penalties were key on both New York scoring drives.

“If those penalties hadn't happened — or just a few of them hadn't happened, they wouldn't have probably had any points,” Harbaugh said. “I think we played to the level of that, of them not scoring. ... You kind of want to get rewarded for that.”

Stock up

Special teams were a problem for Baltimore in the loss to the Eagles, but against the Giants, Justice Hill had a 59-yard kickoff return to start the game, and Desmond King had a 22-yard punt return that set up the game's first touchdown.

King was promoted from the practice squad for the game.

“He’s caught a lot of punts over the years, and you could see it. You could just see it in practice," Harbaugh said. “I was excited to see him out there in the game doing it, and I thought he looked really solid.”

Stock down

Linebacker Trenton Simpson, who has started 13 games this season, played only five defensive snaps against the Giants.

Injuries

Harbaugh said DB Jalyn Armour-Davis had a soft tissue problem that kept him off the field.

Key number

Tight end Mark Andrews scored his 48th touchdown, taking sole possession of first place on the franchise's career list. Jamal Lewis had 47.

Next steps

The Ravens have lost four straight to Pittsburgh, including an 18-16 defeat earlier this season. Baltimore turned the ball over three times in that game and missed a late 2-point conversion that would have tied it.

“They’ve created plays against us,” Harbaugh said. "They’ve had sacks. They’ve had some timely sacks, some timely turnovers and timely stops. They’ve managed to do that, and that’s what it is. That’s what winning games is. They’ve done a good job of that.”

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Noah Trister, The Associated Press