San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)

JACKSON DOES IT ALL, RAVENS ADVANCE

- BY NOAH TRISTER

Lamar Jackson already had done plenty of running by the time he reached the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Ravens 34, Texans 10

Apparently, he still had quite a bit of energy, leaping past the photograph­ers and disappeari­ng into the tunnel in a celebratio­n that seemed cathartic for the All-pro quarterbac­k.

Jackson threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores, and the Baltimore Ravens pulled away in the second half for a 34-10 win over the Houston Texans on Saturday to advance to the AFC championsh­ip game. It was only the second victory in five playoff games for Jackson, a fact he was well aware of.

“You know I heard that,” he said. “I don’t even got to hear it. I see it. But it is what it is. I really don’t care about what people say . ... Those guys just had our team’s number in the past, but it’s a different team.”

Jackson made some more history Saturday, becoming the first quarterbac­k since at least 1948 — in the regular season or playoffs — with at least two touchdown passes, two TD runs, 100 yards rushing and a 100 passer rating in the same game.

“Credit to Lamar,” Texans coach Demeco Ryans said. “He made a ton of great plays. That’s why he’s the MVP.”

The Ravens (14-4) dominated the second half after the teams finished the second quarter tied at 10. Jackson said he did most of the talking at halftime.

“A lot of cursing,” he said. Jackson’s 15-yard scoring run put Baltimore ahead to stay. Although C.J. Stroud had a solid, composed first half for Houston, the Texans (11-8) ultimately couldn’t turn enough promising drives into points against an impressive Ravens defense.

Now Baltimore will host the AFC title game for the first time since January 1971, when the Colts beat the Oakland Raiders on their way to a Super Bowl championsh­ip. The Ravens will play in that semifinal round for the fifth time since their arrival in Baltimore. They’ll take on the winner of today’s matchup between Buffalo and Kansas City.

“Our fans are going to get a chance to cheer just as loud or louder than they did in this

game, and they were amazing,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I thought our fans were incredible. Man, it was deafening out there.”

Ravens fans have been haunted by what happened in the playoffs four years ago, when Baltimore went 14-2 in the regular season but dropped its postseason opener to Tennessee.

But on the first possession of the second half, Jackson guided Baltimore 55 yards in six plays and scored on a run up the middle. Then, a 15-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely early in the fourth made it 24-10.

Jackson’s final touchdown came on an 8-yard run with 6:20 to play, and the fired up quarterbac­k kept running right into the tunnel in that corner of the field.

Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return was the only TD for the Texans, whose offense never did reach the end zone in 120 minutes against the Ravens this season. Houston lost 25-9 in its season opener at Baltimore.

Jackson rushed for 821 yards during the regular season, which is a big part of the case for his second MVP award. But he surpassed 100 yards on the ground only once. He ran for exactly 100 on Saturday on 11 attempts. A 14-yard bootleg on fourthand-1 near midfield led to the touchdown by Likely that gave the Ravens some breathing room.

Jackson also passed for 152 yards.

“Lamar is a dog. I’ve been a fan of his since high school,” Stroud said. “It’s really an honor to share the field with a player like that.”

Stroud threw for 175 yards and didn’t take a sack against a tough Baltimore defensive front, but the Texans dropped to 0-5 in the divisional round of the playoffs. They’re the only current franchise that hasn’t reached a conference championsh­ip game.

 ?? NICK WASS AP ?? Ravens quarterbac­k Lamar Jackson (8) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against the Houston Texans on Saturday, then runs all the way into a tunnel.
NICK WASS AP Ravens quarterbac­k Lamar Jackson (8) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against the Houston Texans on Saturday, then runs all the way into a tunnel.

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