Ravens pull away for 34-10 victory over Texans

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

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 takes on the Kansas City Chiefs as it hosts 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.

“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 142 in the regular season but dropped its postseason opener to Tennessee. Houston did enough to create some anxiety, especially when Steven Sims returned a punt for a touchdown and Jackson struggled at times with the blitzing Texans defense.

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.

“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.

Sims’ 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.

Although the Texans — who went 3-13-1 a year ago — fell short of reaching the AFC championship game for the first time, they took solace in being one of the last eight teams standing.

“Proud of our guys for their effort throughout this entire season, for getting to this moment,” Ryans said. “It’s not a moral victory, just being here. It’s not what we set out to do. But we accomplished a lot this year. I am looking forward to the future.”

Houston Baltimore

3 7

3 7

First Quarter

Bal—FG Tucker 53, 8:36.

Hou—FG Fairbairn 50, :28.

Second Quarter

Bal—Agholor 3 pass from

(Tucker kick), 9:14.

Hou—Sims 67 punt return (Fairbairn kick), 4:17.

0 7

0—10 17—34

L.Jackson

Third Quarter Bal—L.Jackson 15 run (Tucker 12:04.

kick),

Fourth Quarter

Bal—Likely 15 pass from

(Tucker kick), 14:23.

Bal—L.Jackson 8 run (Tucker kick), 6:20. Bal—FG Tucker 43, 1:56.

A—71,018.

L.Jackson

Hou

First downs 10

Total Net Yards 213 Rushes-yards 14-38

Passing 175

Punt Returns 1-67

Kickoff Returns 3-69 Interceptions Ret. 0-0 Comp-Att-Int 19-33-0 Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0

Punts 5-43.4 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 Penalties-Yards 11-70

Time of Possession 22:25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Houston, Singletary 9-22, Stroud 3-9, Ogunbowale 2-7. Baltimore, Jackson 11-100, Hill 13-66, Edwards 10-40, Cook 8-23.

PASSING—Houston, Stroud 19-33-0175. Baltimore, Jackson 16-22-0-152.

RECEIVING—Houston, N.Collins 5-68, Singletary 5-48, Schultz 5-43, Hutchinson 2-(minus 3), Ogunbowale 1-13, Woods 1-6. Baltimore, Flowers 4-41, Bateman 3-39, Likely 2-34, Agholor 2-12, Hill 2-11, Beckham 1-12, Kolar 1-4, Edwards 1-(minus 1).

MISSED FIELD GOALS—Houston, 47.

Bal 22 352 42-229 123 1-11 2-53 0-0 16-22-0 3-29 4-42.25 0-0 3-15 37:35

Fairbairn