Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh
Ravens Jump on Steelers Early, Advance to Next Round in 28-14 Win
The Baltimore Ravens had their fair share of slow starts this season, but that wasn’t the case in Saturday night’s AFC wild card round matchup against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Ravens scored on two long drives in the first half and added on another to take a 21-0 halftime lead in what eventually was a 28-14 victory. While the Ravens employ the two-time (and potentially a third next month) NFL MVP in Lamar Jackson, they took advantage of running back Derrick Henry (186 yards) along with Jackson (81) yards to outrun the Steelers 299 to 29 – the most rushing yards the Steelers have given up on the ground in playoff history.
“My dad's proud. Jack Harbaugh's proud right now. He likes to pound the rock,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Derrick Henry was running hard, physical. Lamar started it off. Lamar carried the ball at different times in the first drive or two.”
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It was the second-best playoff performance of Henry’s career, which the Ravens are all too familiar with. His best game was a 195-yard effort with Tennessee in 2019 when the Titans upset the top-seeded Ravens in the divisional round.
GAME RECAP
After the Steelers’ opening drive started with a punt, the Ravens took over at their own 5-yard line. The Ravens had 10 drives of 90 or more yards during the regular season, which was the most in a single season this century. Not surprisingly, they did it again here with a 95-yard drive that took 7:13 off the clock. The big play was a direct snap to Henry that gained 34 yards, and the touchdown was a pass from Jackson to Rashod Bateman.
The Ravens’ third drive started from their 15 and went 7:56, leading to another score. This time, Henry ran it into the end zone from eight yards out. The next Ravens possession started at their 10-yard line, but – you guessed it – it led to another touchdown, but this only took 1:51 off the clock. Nelson Agholor, Mark Andrews, and Isiah Likely each had 20-yard receptions, and the touchdown was a 5-yard pass from Jackson to Justice Hill to make it 21-0 at halftime.
The Steelers scored on their first possession of the second half to cut the lead to 21-7, but Baltimore struck back quickly. On the fourth play of the drive, Henry took it 44 yards to the house to extend the lead back to 21. Pittsburgh scored again before the quarter ran out but couldn’t get any closer in the Ravens’ 28-14 victory.
UP NEXT
The Buffalo Bills handled the Denver Broncos in their wild card round game, so Baltimore will take the trip to upstate New York for a divisional round showdown with MVP candidate Josh Allen and the Bills. Baltimore blew out Buffalo in Week 4 of the regular season – a 35-10 victory at M&T Bank Stadium.