THE BALTIMORE RAVENS, fuelled by a brutally efficient performance from quarterback Lamar Jackson and a fearsome running game spearheaded by Derrick Henry, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-14 Saturday to launch their NFL playoff campaign.
Jackson completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 82 yards to supplement Henry’s 186 rushing yards as the Ravens advanced to the AFC divisional round where they’ll face either the second-seeded Buffalo Bills or the Houston Texans, who beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the first AFC wild card game 32-12.
Jackson – a favourite to claim a third regular-season Most Valuable Player award who is seeking to shake a disappointing playoff history – threw two touchdown passes in the first half.
Henry added a rushing score to put Baltimore up 21-0 at halftime.
Baltimore drove 95 yards for a touchdown on their first possession, Jackson hitting Rashod Bateman with a 15-yarder for the score.
Then came a 13-play scoring drive that was all running plays – the last an eight-yard touchdown by Henry.
Jackson completed six straight passes on their final drive of the half, hitting Justice Hill with a five-yard scoring pass with two seconds on the clock.
The Steelers, who reeled into the playoffs having lost their last four regular-season games, got on the board in the third quarter when quarterback Russell Wilson hit Van Jefferson with a 30-yard scoring pass.
But Baltimore promptly responded, Henry powering 44 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-7.
Minutes later the Steelers clawed back another TD, Wilson firing a 36-yard pass to George Pickens who spun through the defence and into the end zone.
Wilson completed 20 of 29 passes for 270 yards but the Steelers, who reeled into the playoffs having lost their last four regular-season games, have now lost six straight post-season contests, a streak dating back to 2016.
Henry said the Ravens will remain focused on the ultimate goal: the Super Bowl on 8 February.
“This is step one,” he said. “We’re going to enjoy this one and then get back to work. It’s a great win, but we’ve got three more.”
In Houston, a tough Texans defence harried the Chargers into a ruinous offensive display in which Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert – who had thrown just three interceptions in the regular season – was picked off four times and sacked four times in a disastrous display.
The Texans trailed by two field goals with less than a minute left in the first half, but then the momentum of the game shifted.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud fumbled a snap but recovered the ball and then scrambled to throw a 34-yard pass to Xavier Hutchinson.
On the next down Stroud made another big pass, connecting with Nico Collins on a 37-yard throw before ending the drive by zipping a 13-yard touchdown pass to Collins.
The Chargers were then forced to punt and the Texans answered with a 41-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn for a 10-6 halftime lead.
“We didn’t start off great, but it’s not about how you start it’s about how you finish,” Stroud said. “We got a spark going into the second half – we had a 99-yard drive – and we kept going from there.”
Fairbairn added another field goal in the third before Herbert, trying to find Ladd McConkey, was picked off by Eric Murray who raced 38-yards into the end-zone to open up a 20-6 lead for the home side.
After another Herbert interception led to another Texans field goal, Herbert gave his team some hope when he found McConkey down the middle and the rookie receiver raced away for an 86-yard score.
Disaster struck the Chargers again when Cameron Dicker’s point after kick was blocked and his attempt to bat the ball loose saw D’Angelo Ross recover and sprint down to the end-zone for two points for the Texans.
Running back Joe Mixon, who put up 106 yards on the ground, then wrapped up the win with a 17-yard rushing touchdown.
“I let the team down,” Herbert said. “You can’t turn the ball over like that and expect to win.”
Do Buffalo not have to beat Denver 1st????
Jackson and Henery some combination go Ravens
@colin coady: It’s the way the seedings work. If Buffalo win they play the Ravens. If the Broncos beat the Bills the Ravens play the Texans and the Cheifs will play the the lowest seeded Broncos after having the 1st seed rest week