BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens didn’t force a turnover, scored only two touchdowns and were dangerously close to going into overtime at home against lowly Indianapolis.
“We didn’t play our best game,” coach John Harbaugh readily acknowledged.
Though the Ravens’ performance Saturday was not particularly artistic, they perceived the final result to be a thing of beauty: Ravens 23, Colts 16.
Baltimore (9-6) scored on its first two possessions and held off the skidding Colts (3-12) in a windy, rain-soaked second half.
The Ravens will reach the playoffs as an AFC wild card by defeating Cincinnati at home next Sunday. Striving for its first postseason berth since 2014, Baltimore has won five of six following a 4-5 start.
“We found a way to win it. That’s the thing, it’s a win,” Harbaugh said. “It doesn’t matter. You have to find a way to win in this league.”
Joe Flacco threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns, Justin Tucker kicked three field goals and the Ravens did just enough to squeeze out a victory.
“I wish we had gotten into the end zone one more time,” Flacco said. “It’s not always pretty.”
Indianapolis closed to 16-13 in the third quarter before Flacco threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Maxx Williams with 8:40 remaining.
It was 23-16 when Anthony Walker blocked a Ravens punt , giving the Colts the ball at the Baltimore 27 with 2:36 left. Indianapolis moved to the 10 before a third-down sack and a fourth-down incompletion ended the comeback bid.
“We had a great chance to win this game,” Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett said. “We just didn’t get it done down there.”
Flacco, who went 29 for 38, has thrown for seven TDs with just one interception over his last four games.
“We’re a very excited, a very confident football team,” Flacco said.
The Colts have lost six in a row for the first time since 2011, when they opened 0-13. That was the year before they drafted quarterback Andrew Luck, whose absence this season with a shoulder injury contributed heavily to the team’s slide into the AFC South cellar.
Brissett completed 16 of 33 passes for 215 yards and Frank Gore had 68 yards rushing and a touchdown catch for Indianapolis. More importantly, the Colts did not commit a turnover against a team that leads the NFL with 33 takeaways.
Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals for the Colts, but he had one blocked and came up short on a 60-yard try at the end of the first half.
Flacco went 16 for 22 for 157 yards to help the Ravens take a 13-7 halftime lead.
After kicking a field goal on its first possession, Baltimore blocked a field goal try by Vinatieri. The Ravens then launched a 71-yard drive that ended with Flacco tossing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Michael Campanaro for a 10-0 lead.
Brissett answered with a 14-yard TD pass to Gore, and Tucker kicked a 39-yard field goal for Baltimore after the two-minute warning.
Tucker connected from 36 yards out to increase the lead to 16-7 with 5 1/2 minutes gone in the third quarter, but Vinatieri kicked a pair for the Colts to make it 16-13.
VIKINGS 16, PACKERS 0
REEN BAY, Wis. — The Minnesota Vikings shut out an opponent for the first time in nearly a quarter-century, beating the injury-depleted Green Bay Packers 16-0 on Saturday night to stay in the hunt for a first-round playoff bye.
Stefon Diggs caught a 4-yard pass from Case Keenum just inside the back line of the end zone in the first quarter for the only touchdown. The Vikings (12-3) have already clinched the NFC North and can secure a bye if Carolina loses or ties on Sunday against Tampa Bay.
The Vikings forced an incompletion into the end zone on fourth-and-4 from the 14 early in the fourth quarter to turn away the Packers’ last best effort to get into the end zone. Safety Harrison Smith ended another Green Bay drive with an interception at the Minnesota 5 late in the second quarter.
Minnesota left frigid Lambeau Field with its first shutout since a 13-0 win over Detroit on Dec. 5, 1993. It was the first shutout over the Packers (7-8) since Nov. 14, 1971.
The Packers managed to hold a 239-236 edge in total yards. They were still shut out twice in a season for the first time since 2006.
In the their defense, the team fielded a lineup that often looked like one that coach Mike McCarthy would send out for a game late in the preseason. The Packers have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Starting outside linebackers Clay Matthews (hamstring) and Nick Perry (ankle/shoulder) missed the game, along with cornerback Damarious Randall (hamstring).
Brett Hundley was 17 of 40 for 130 yards with two interceptions in taking over at quarterback again for Aaron Rodgers, who returned to injured reserve this week after missing seven games earlier in the year with a collarbone injury.
The Packers didn’t have leading receiver Davante Adams, who is in the concussion protocol, then lost wideout Jordy Nelson and tight end Richard Rodgers to shoulder injuries in the first half.
Unable to connect on medium-to-long range passes, the Packers’ best plays came when Hundley broke free for big gains with his legs.
Not enough against the Vikings’ stingy defense.
Fans bundled up in parkas, huddled under blankets and sipped on free hot chocolate to stay warm. Purple-clad Minnesota backers celebrated in the stands on a night in which temperatures hovered in the single digits.
“Skol! Skol,” they chanted as if they were partying at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Diggs finished with five catches for 60 yards. Case Keenum was 14 of 25 for 139 yards.
