Ravens’ Jackson Super Bowl dream on track
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 (Sunday in Manila) 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 15yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.
Jackson then delivered the knockout blow early in the fourth quarter, cleverly wrongfooting 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 topseeded 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 4 minutes 17 seconds 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 20122013 Super
Bowl.