EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Quarterback Lamar Jackson passed for five touchdowns and 290 yards as the Ravens routed the New York Giants 35-14 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

Jackson went 21-for-25 and finished with a 154.6 passer rating, falling just shy of his fifth career perfect passer rating (158.3) and second this season. He added six carries for 65 yards, reigniting his NFL Most Valuable Player campaign in the Ravens’ first game after their bye. Overall, their offense finished with 445 total yards (7.5 per play) against an injury-depleted Giants defense.

The Ravens (9-5) cut into the Steelers’ lead in the AFC North. The Ravens would enter Saturday’s showdown against Pittsburgh (10-3) at M&T Bank Stadium with a one-game deficit in the standings if the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Steelers on Sunday afternoon.

Jackson, who struggled in the Ravens’ Week 13 loss to the Eagles, completed passes to eight receivers and threw touchdowns to four of them before leaving the blowout in the fourth quarter Sunday. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman had three catches for 80 yards and two scores, while running back Justice Hill (61 yards), tight end Mark Andrews (24 yards) and rookie wide receiver Devontez Walker (21 yards) also found the end zone. Andrews set the Ravens’ franchise record with his 48th career touchdown, breaking a tie with running back Jamal Lewis, while Walker scored his first on his first career catch.

The Ravens allowed just 236 yards of total offense to a Giants team that started its third-string quarterback, Tommy DeVito, and turned to its fourth-stringer, Tim Boyle, after DeVito was ruled out with a concussion at halftime. But penalties were a problem; both of the Giants’ touchdowns came on drives extended by flags. The Ravens finished with eight defensive penalties for 91 yards and had 12 penalties total for 112 yards.

DeVito and Boyle combined to go 22-for-37 for 191 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers had 10 catches for 82 yards, including a 23-yard score.

What did we actually learn?

The Ravens got out of this one without any apparent injuries. Phew. They got their rookies and reserves in, too. Yay.

But in a game with this many mismatches — including a fourth-string Giants quarterback replacing a concussed third-string quarterback — it doesn’t feel like we learned anything.

We knew Lamar Jackson was good. We knew the Ravens’ penalty problem was real. We knew Derrick Henry could break a lot of tackles.

But the Ravens will be going into an entirely new universe Saturday when the Steelers come to Baltimore. We’ll know more then.

— Jonas Shaffer, Ravens reporter

A strong brand

Even against one of the worst teams in the league, the Ravens were just themselves. On offense, they continued to be a versatile unit driven by the excellence of their quarterback. They hit the Giants with the run and the pass, as the Ravens do when they’re at their best. On defense, they continued to be stout against the run — and weak against the pass in relation to the run. And, on both sides of the ball, their performance continued to be riddled with penalties, several of which directly led to a Giants scoring drive.

It was a dominant win over a bad, injury-weakened team to get their momentum going again out of the bye. But it revealed that their problems are still their problems, whether the opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles or the New York Giants.

– Giana Han, Ravens reporter

The penalty problem is unacceptable

A team as talented as the Ravens shouldn’t be struggling with penalties this late in the season against a team as bad as the Giants. And yet, on New York’s first touchdown drive, the Ravens gave up more yards on penalties (41) than the Giants’ offense gained (39). In all, Baltimore cost itself more than 100 yards in penalties, the fourth time the team has hit that mark.

They’ve been leading the league in penalty yards all season, and at this point it’s a part of the team’s identity. After being a solid corner last season, Brandon Stephens especially has been a huge offender, making him almost unplayable. Having the same costly mistakes out of the bye week is inexcusable, and the coaching staff has to look in the mirror as to why it’s a week-after-week problem. Such mistakes are going to keep the Ravens from their playoff goals.

— Kyle Goon, columnist

Took care of business

There are good teams; there are bad teams. Then there are 50 feet of crap, and then there are the New York Giants. From coaching to personnel, the Giants are simply no match for the Ravens, and the delta between these two franchises was extremely apparent. The biplanes say it all.

But the Ravens have had a tendency to play down to their competition over the last couple of seasons, and their inexplicable losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns could prevent them from winning the AFC North. That’s why they needed to take care of business against the Giants. They did that, and they looked (mostly) good doing it. Saturday’s rematch against the Steelers looms large but, in the meantime, the Ravens should be glad they avoided disaster in New Jersey.

– Paul Mancano, Banner Ravens Podcast co-host

That game sure did happen

The Ravens won the way they should have. Lamar Jackson played about as well as he could (bet he’d like that one long throw to Rashod Bateman back, though.) Nobody appears to have been seriously injured. Devontez Walker made a beautiful catch. The Ravens still love taking bad penalties. Not much else to take from this one. Get rested, get ready for the Steelers on Saturday and the Texans on Christmas.

— Chris Korman, editor

CORRECTION: This story was updated with the name of the Giants’ fourth-string quarterback and with the penalty totals for the Ravens.