Ravens Throw Down Gauntlet, Eagles Survive, Josh Allen Puts on a Clinic | 4 Downs
Last January, the Baltimore Ravens ran out of answers. This January, they’re running over everyone—and straight toward the Super Bowl.
It was almost a year ago that the Ravens walked off the field at M&T Bank Stadium after a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10 in the AFC Title game.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monkin and head coach John Harbaugh drew heavy criticism for running the ball just 23 times in a stunning loss that seemed to reinforce the belief Lamar Jackson “Can’t win the big one.”
The polarity Saturday night in the Ravens’ emphatic 28-14 victory over the Steelers could not have been more eye-popping.
What a difference a year makes.
Games like Saturday, in the frigid cold and with the stakes higher than ever, were why the Ravens made signing Derrick Henry a top offseason priority.
On the third Baltimore drive of the game, the Ravens ran the ball all 13 times for 85 yards, with the big fella punching it in from eight yards out, a declaration of the kind of night it was about to be for this offense.
In so many ways, the Ravens issued an emphatic statement and stark warning to the rest of the NFL during a systematic dismantling of a division rival to end their season.
Jackson entered this postseason needing to shake the demons of past postseason failures and responded with a legacy-defining performance.
Not only did Jackson deliver, but his dominance was underscored by Henry cementing his status as a blunt force trauma multiplier against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that was never quite as competitive as the score might indicate.
“They’ve always been able to run the ball,” a rival AFC Scout tells me. “With Lamar, he gets more lanes now because you have to account for both of them, and Henry just deflates the defense as the game goes on because he’s so big and physical.”
Baltimore’s opening possession was Jackson’s magnum opus.
The drive showcased every element of what makes this Ravens team so dangerous. It served as the blueprint for how these Ravens can navigate the AFC’s landmines to a Super Bowl.
Baltimore opened with five consecutive runs for 22 yards, which ultimately freed Henry to burst through for an explosive 32-yard burst, stiff-arming Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick into the Earth’s core. Jackson delivered the Ravens to paydirt when he hit Rashod Bateman for a touchdown with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter, and the Ravens never looked back.
Finishing 16-of-21 passing for 175 yards and two touchdowns, four of Jackson’s incompletions came in the first half with two of them via a throwaway and the other one, a spike.
This was the grand unveiling of Jackson, the methodical precision passer in a game his team needed it most.
Similarly, it has never been more clear that Henry and Jackson were always intended to share a backfield, and that they not only bring out the best in one another but as a pair exponentially raise the Ravens’ postseason ceiling.
Henry didn’t just score two rushing touchdowns, he rattled off punishing run after punishing run, en route to a 186-yard performance, averaging 7.15 yards per carry.
At one point in the early moments of the fourth quarter, Henry had rushed for 151 yards, and at the time was averaging 9.1 yards per carry.
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The Ravens' decision to invest in Henry last offseason looks like the missing piece that could elevate this team from playoff regulars to Super Bowl favorites.
Jackson, brimming with confidence after the game, likened Henry's breakaway speed to Lightning McQueen from Cars leaving opponents on the track in his dust.
“You ever watch cars,” Jackson asked the assembled reporters, with a laugh. “It looked like a movie, bro. I’d rather be watching it than being on the other side.”
The impact of Henry’s violent running and Jackson’s combination of shiftiness and assassin-like accuracy from the pocket was never more evident than when, inside the closing moments of the first half, Jackson evaded pressure, drifted 10 yards deep in the pocket before stepping into his throw and hitting running back Justice Hill in the flat for a five-yard touchdown.
Before the Saturday Night Slaughter of the Steelers, Jackson was 2-4 as a starter in the postseason with six touchdowns, six interceptions, and countless questions about his ability to rise to the moment.
With his performance, Jackson not only silenced questions about his postseason pedigree but also looks steal the baton from the likes of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, as the catalyst for an unlikely Ravens Super Bowl run.
Here are the biggest takeaways, and storylines, from a wild, NFL Wildcard Weekend
First Down: Defense Dominates, But Offensive Concerns Loom in Eagles’ Wildcard Win Over Packers
If defenses truly win championships, the Eagles might be partying with the Lombardi Trophy well into the New Orleans morning over beignets and muddy coffee at Cafe Du Monde in a few weeks.
But, Philadelphia’s 22-10 NFC Wildcard win over the Packers revealed serious concerns that could derail their Super Bowl hopes.
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