BALTIMORE — They advised anybody who would pay attention that this was a unique workforce, that that they had realized from previous playoff failures, that they had been “locked in” on making a Tremendous Bowl. Then, over the primary half-hour of soccer Saturday on a frigid late afternoon in Baltimore, they regarded just like the playoff Ravens of the latest previous.
Their offense was confused and overwhelmed by the blitz. Their presumptive MVP quarterback, Lamar Jackson, regarded pissed off. Their particular groups gave up a game-changing punt return touchdown. The Houston Texans may as nicely have been the 2018 Los Angeles Chargers, 2019 Tennessee Titans or 2020 Buffalo Payments. It was the identical film, only a totally different antagonist.
However the largest distinction between these Ravens and former variations revealed itself behind closed doorways in an “edgy” locker room. That’s the place a fed-up Jackson, who teammates say has matured and grown as Baltimore’s main man, advised the room sufficient was sufficient. They weren’t happening like this.
“There’s one thing in him proper now,” mentioned Ravens extensive receiver Nelson Agholor, who caught a 3-yard landing cross within the second quarter. “It’s been in him all yr, however there’s one thing actually in him proper now, and I’m with it. I’m with it.”
Lamar to Agholor! @Ravens take a 10-3 lead.
📺: #HOUvsBAL on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/mOqD2jfu4M pic.twitter.com/LzW5RFrW24— NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2024
No person appeared to need to reveal what Jackson mentioned at halftime with the rating tied and the offense coming off three consecutive three-and-outs. A number of of the offensive linemen mentioned it wasn’t something new. They had been already conscious about Jackson’s ardour for profitable. However Jackson conceded he was the one who did the crux of the halftime speaking, which isn’t typical.
“Quite a lot of cursing at halftime,” Jackson acknowledged.
The Ravens got here out within the second half and ran the Texans off the sector as a capability crowd of 71,018 morphed from antsy to jubilant. Dominating on offense and protection, the Ravens reeled off the sport’s ultimate 24 factors to win 34-10, securing a spot within the AFC championship and solidifying M&T Financial institution Stadium as the location on Jan. 28.
GO DEEPER
Lamar Jackson, Ravens run away from Texans in second half
The Ravens will play the winner of Sunday evening’s matchup between the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Payments. It is going to be the primary time the Ravens will host an AFC Championship Recreation in workforce historical past and the primary AFC title sport in Baltimore for the reason that Colts hosted the Raiders in January 1971.
“This is step one,” mentioned Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whose workforce hasn’t performed for a convention title because it gained Tremendous Bowl XLVII following the 2012 common season. “The subsequent step is in entrance of us.”
Harbaugh and a few of his assistant coaches broke out the dance strikes within the locker room after the sport. It was a far totally different vibe than it was at halftime when Jackson turned up the warmth on the offense he leads.
“I used to be (edgy),” Jackson mentioned. “We had no different alternative — the offense as a unit. We simply weren’t placing factors up. Properly, we scored as soon as. Our protection was enjoying lights out, however we’re not responding. So, we simply needed to dial in at halftime. Like Coach mentioned, ‘Get the ball out fast and let the protection play us sincere,’ and that’s what we did.”
The coaches bought strikes 😂😭💀 pic.twitter.com/LDDU9OftJx
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 21, 2024
Within the second half, Jackson led three consecutive scoring drives, sandwiching a 15-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely between 15- and 8-yard touchdown runs by the quarterback. It was classic Jackson, making fast choices, forcing the Texans to honor each a part of Baltimore’s offensive arsenal — together with his legs — and never forcing something.
After his final landing, which gave the Ravens a three-touchdown lead with 6:20 to play, Jackson ran straight up the tunnel. The present was mercifully over for the Texans, who gave up 229 dashing yards, 134 of which got here within the second half.
Jackson grew to become the primary participant in NFL historical past to have 100-plus passing yards, 100-plus dashing yards, a 100-plus passer ranking and two passing touchdowns and two dashing scores in the identical sport.
“Credit score to Lamar,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans mentioned. “He made a ton of nice performs. That’s why he’s the MVP.”
The Ravens’ first second-half landing drive lined 55 yards on six performs and lasted slightly below three minutes. The second was a 12-play, 93-yard drive that lasted simply over seven minutes. The third consisted of 11 performs, touring 78 yards and consuming up one other seven minutes.
It was the Ravens at their 2023 greatest, with the offense controlling the ball and the road of scrimmage whereas giving Jackson myriad choices within the run and cross video games. It was Mike Macdonald’s protection not giving Texans rookie phenom quarterback C.J. Stroud something straightforward.
Stroud, who took aside the Cleveland Browns’ vaunted protection within the wild-card spherical, accomplished simply 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards and no touchdowns. Houston had simply 213 whole yards and didn’t rating any offensive factors — Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return was its solely landing — after a late first-quarter subject aim. In two video games towards the Ravens this season, the Texans, with a quarterback who will possible win Offensive Rookie of the 12 months and an offensive coordinator (Bobby Slowik) who’s garnering head-coaching interviews, didn’t rating an offensive landing.
Maybe, essentially the most spectacular factor about Baltimore’s defensive effort was it dominated the sport with out getting a single takeaway or sack.
“The protection was pretty much as good because it may very well be,” Harbaugh mentioned.
Harbaugh and the Ravens teaching workers badly wanted this win. Squandering one other high seed would have been brutal. One other divisional-round defeat as a big dwelling favourite would even have resuscitated all the previous criticism about Harbaugh and the workforce’s latest performances within the playoffs, like the house loss to the Titans after the 2019 common season. Harbaugh’s determination to sit down some key gamers, like Jackson, in Week 18 with the workforce already having clinched the highest seed would have been second-guessed advert nauseam.
The Ravens had been slightly off to start out the sport, at the very least offensively. However within the second half, they regarded just like the more energizing and extra primed workforce. Halftime changes by offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who watched his quarterback get blitzed time and again within the first half, had been a serious distinction within the sport.
Monken was rather more aggressive on early downs initially of the third quarter. He gave Jackson extra choices within the fast passing sport and anxious much less about creating chunk performs. Within the second half, Baltimore had the reply to Houston’s blitz. In keeping with NFL Subsequent Gen Stats, Jackson was 13-of-18 towards an additional rusher for 120 yards and two touchdowns. The 75 % blitz fee he confronted was a profession excessive.
“They had been having success within the first half with blitzing us, gentle blitz and 0,” Jackson mentioned. “They had been doing their factor, however we watched numerous movie. We had been ready; we simply made little errors defending the blitz and getting the ball out on time. By the second half, I felt like we had been doing what we had been imagined to do.”
Jackson badly wanted this win, too. The distinguished storyline getting into the sport was about how he had a 1-3 playoff file as a starter and 7 turnovers in these 4 video games. Might you think about the response had Jackson been outplayed by Stroud? It actually would have made all of the discuss over the previous few weeks about Jackson’s progress and his “locked in” mantra sound like lip service.
As a substitute, the other occurred. Jackson mentioned his piece at halftime and challenged his teammates.
“I hear the message, not the phrases,” left sort out Ronnie Stanley mentioned. “I do know what he’s making an attempt to say. He’s a aggressive participant, wears his coronary heart on his sleeve. He’ll say numerous stuff. I do know what he’s making an attempt to get at. We all know what he needs, and that’s simply to win.”
Then, Jackson took over within the second half. On one of many decisive performs of the sport, the Ravens had a fourth-and-1 on the Texans’ 49. They led 17-10 with simply over two minutes remaining within the third quarter. Jackson faked a handoff to Gus Edwards and ran a bootleg for 14 yards. 5 performs later, he linked with Seemingly for the landing.
Lamar hit ’em with the total cease 😳
📺: #HOUvsBAL on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/mOqD2jfu4M pic.twitter.com/kiLwTF4Mez— NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2024
“His character — he’s the Baltimore Ravens,” Agholor mentioned. “He leads the precise manner: by instance. But in addition, when it’s time to speak, it’s mentioned. After which he executes. … He doesn’t simply discuss, discuss, discuss and go on the market and never do nothing. He says what must be mentioned after which goes on the market and executes.”
When it was over, Jackson was already prepared to maneuver on. And the Ravens, as they’re apt to do, had been following his lead.
“We now have to complete,” Jackson mentioned. “It’s nonetheless the playoffs. We’re not within the dance but, however I’m trying ahead to subsequent week, to be sincere with you. I’m not even interested by the Tremendous Bowl till we deal with enterprise.”
(Photograph: Patrick Smith / Getty Photos)