Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns in a flawless first half, Derrick Henry ran for 186 yards and Baltimore handed Pittsburgh its sixth consecutive playoff loss.
The Baltimore Ravens were built to run, and that's exactly what they did to win their first playoff game of the year.
Baltimore combined for 299 yards on the ground (they were at 300 before the final kneel), with Derrick Henry garnering the majority, in their 28-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.
The Steelers offense was blanked the entire first half, punting on each of their four drives. The Ravens were a different story; the first time they had the ball, they drove 95 yards down the field, and Lamar Jackson found Rashod Bateman for a 15-yard touchdown. In the second quarter, it was another 13-play drive (all runs), and this time, it was Henry punching it in.
Then, with two seconds left until both teams went into the locker room, Jackson evaded pressure and found Justice Hill to make it 21-0 and give the Ravens over 300 yards of offense. The first half differential in the first half was 19-2 in favor of Baltimore.
The Steelers weren’t dead yet, though. Despite being pinned at their own 2-yard line, Russell Wilson dropped three third-down dimes to keep the drive alive, the final one being a 30-yard touchdown to Van Jefferson to get Pittsburgh on the board in the third. However, Baltimore answered right back, as Henry scampered for a 44-yard score.
Wilson, though, threw another touchdown in a bucket, this one to George Pickens, to again make it a two-score game with 3:24 left in the third.
Although the Ravens offense slowed down in the second half, Pittsburgh was unable to do much in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over on downs midway through the quarter in an effort to make it a one-score game, and Pickens' touchdown would wind up being the final score of the game.
In all, it was 186 yards on the ground for Henry on 26 carries, two of which found the end zone. Jackson added 81 rushing yards (while also going 16-for-21 for 175 yards through the air).
Baltimore now awaits their divisional round opponent, but in all likelihood, it will be the Buffalo Bills. With a surprising Buffalo loss to the Denver Broncos, though, they'd face the Houston Texans.
In Saturday's loss to the Texans, Justin Herbert became the first player in NFL history to throw more picks in a playoff game (four) than in the regular season (three).
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Through the first half of the Ravens’ AFC wild-card matchup against the Steelers, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry have combined for 164 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
The New England Patriots are in talks to hire Mike Vrabel as the team's next head coach, according to The Boston Globe.
Vrabel is the favorite to get the job after former head coach Jerod Mayo was fired Sunday after just one season.
Vrabel is a member of the Patriots' Hall of Fame for his eight seasons with the team. He won three Super Bowls with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick during his New England career from 2001-08.
Vrabel was 54-45 in six seasons as head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018-2023, including three trips to the playoffs and one to the AFC title game.
Vrabel was fired by the Titans after the 2023 season, then spent 2024 in a part-time role as a coaching and personnel consultant with the Cleveland Browns.
Vrabel was projected to be a top head coaching candidate in 2025. He has also interviewed with the Jets and the Bears.
The Patriots have also interviewed Ben Johnson, Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton for their head coach opening.
Vrabel was born in Ohio and was an All-American during his standout playing career with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the mid-1990s.
Vrabel ended his pro career with 769 tackles, 57 sacks and 11 interceptions. He received All-Pro honors for his standout 2007 season with the New England Patriots.
The Patriots are 8-26 the past two seasons with Bill Belichick and then Mayo as their head coach.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw four interceptions in his team's 32-12 playoff loss to the Houston Texans Saturday. Herbert threw just three interceptions during the regular season, joining Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers as the only quarterbacks to throw three or fewer in a season.
But Herbert didn't resemble Brady or Rodgers at any point during his calamitous day Saturday. With four interceptions and just 14 completions on 32 attempts, Herbert had, arguably, the worst performance of his career.
It also dropped him to 0-2 in the playoffs. His only other playoff game was the historic collapse against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 wild-card round.
Herbert was the target of intense criticism on social media during and after Saturday's game.
The play came after Ladd McConkey scored on an 86-yard reception early in the fourth quarter. Cameron Dicker’s extra point attempt was blocked by Denico Autry.
The ball flew high in the air on the deflection and Dicker tried to knock it down, but it bounced off his hands. Ross grabbed it and returned it for the score that pushed Houston’s lead to 25-12.
The NFL began awarding two points for an extra point returned to the end zone in 2015. Before that, a blocked extra point recovered by the defense was a dead ball.
It was the ninth extra point returned for a score since the rule change, according to Sportradar. It happened once in the 2024 regular season when the Eagles did it against Tampa Bay Sept. 29.
With the loss, the Chargers end their season without a playoff win for the sixth straight season. They haven't won a playoff game since Phillip Rivers' last postseason run with the team in 2018, when they beat the Baltimore Ravens in a wild-card game.
The Texans won a playoff game for the second straight year, led by quarterback C.J. Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans.
