Quarterback Lamar Jackson rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more to leave the Baltimore Ravens one win away from the Super Bowl on Saturday with a 34-10 Divisional round playoff victory over the Houston Texans.
NFL Most Valuable Player front-runner Jackson tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor in the second quarter and then showcased his feared running game with a 15-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.
Jackson then delivered the knockout blow early in the fourth quarter, cleverly wrong-footing the Texans defense before hitting Isaiah Likely in the end zone for a score that left Baltimore with a 14-point lead at 24-10, before scampering over for his second touchdown to seal the win.
The victory means the top-seeded Ravens will host next weekend’s AFC championship game where they will face the winner of Sunday’s clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
“This is just the first playoff game, we’re finally in the AFC championship game — we’ve still got more work to do,” said Jackson, who finished with 152 passing yards as well as 100 rushing yards.
While the Ravens celebrated, Houston were left reflecting on a disappointing end to what has been a dazzling rookie season for quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The 22-year-old from California struggled to get Houston’s offense moving in the face of Baltimore’s rock-solid defense, finishing with just 175 passing yards.
Houston’s points came from a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal in the first quarter and a 67-yard punt return from Steven Sims in the second quarter.
Justin Tucker’s 53-yard field goal kicked Baltimore into an early first-quarter lead before Fairbairn leveled with a 50-yard effort of his own.
Jackson’s running game came to the fore for Baltimore’s opening touchdown, the Ravens quarterback darting forward for rushes of 23 yards and 15 yards before finding Agholor for the score.
Baltimore were rocked however when Sims sliced through the Ravens defense for his punt return touchdown with 4min 17sec remaining in the second quarter.
That score made it 10-10 at half-time, leaving Ravens fans nervously wondering if another playoff disappointment was looming. Until Saturday’s win, Baltimore had not been past the divisional round in five playoff appearances since the team won the 2012-2013 Super Bowl.
But those home fears were allayed on the opening drive of the second half, which culminated with Jackson gliding 15 yards into the end zone to make it 17-10.
Baltimore then took a commanding lead in the fourth quarter after Jackson marched the team 93 yards upfield on a 12-play drive that ended with Likely’s touchdown.
Jackson capped a superb individual performance with his second touchdown after another long drive, ghosting into the end zone from eight yards to help make it 31-10.
Tucker completed the Baltimore scoring with a late 43-yard field goal.
