The Baltimore Ravens entered this postseason on a mission. A mission that they’ve set out to do since the end of last season when they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild-Card round. That mission: finish. The team wanted to prove people wrong about their past playoff failures and win a Super Bowl. After defeating the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins to seal the AFC North and the number one seed, the Ravens hadn’t played a meaningful game since December 31st (they rested most of their starters in the season finale against Pittsburgh), heading into their AFC Divisional matchup with the Houston Texans. Rust was a concern going in. It wasn’t easy, and Houston put up a battle, but the Ravens found a way with a 34-10 victory and will host their first conference championship game in franchise history.
Ravens Pull Away From Texans; Will Host AFC Title Game
Defense Holds CJ Stroud Out Of The Endzone
The Texans did score a touchdown in this game, but it was on a punt return. Overall, the Ravens’ defense was stellar, and while they didn’t sack Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, they pressured him throughout the day. The defense also kept running back Devin Singletary at bay, keeping the Texans’ offense out of the endzone. One week after Stroud threw three touchdowns against the Cleveland Browns defense, he was held without a touchdown pass. The best defense in the entire NFL, which was number one in points, turnovers, and sacks, held an opposing offense out of the endzone in their first game of this postseason—shutting out the Texans entirely in the second half. The 2000 Ravens defense (members such as Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware, and Michael McCrary were in attendance) must’ve been very proud. Roquan Smith led the team in tackles with seven.
A Tale Of Two Offenses
The defense held their end of the bargain for the entire game. For the offense, however, things seemed a bit tricky. Aside from a couple of Lamar Jackson runs, they were not getting much out of the run game. The passing game wasn’t clicking, and the Texans’ blitz was disruptive. For Jackson and the offense, this felt like an all too familiar story. Houston was in it after the punt return touchdown by Stephen Sims. That tied the game at 10-10. At halftime, the offense made adjustments to counter the Texans blitz, and they looked like a much different offense. Jackson scored four touchdowns total (two rushing, two passing), and they ran for 229 yards. Jackson contributed to 100 of those. In the passing game, Monken and Jackson worked to throw the ball quickly and in the flat to avoid the blitz, and it worked. For a quarterback who has been criticized for his play in the postseason, this was his best outing to date.
Baltimore To Host A Conference Title Game
With the Ravens win, the franchise will see a first in its history next week as it will finally host a conference championship game. It’s a special occasion not just for Ravens fans but also for Baltimore sports. Baltimore football hasn’t hosted an AFC Championship since the old Baltimore Colts in 1971, 53 years ago. This will be the fifth conference championship appearance in team history, with the previous four on the road. At Oakland in 2000, Pittsburgh in 2008, and New England back-to-back in 2011 and 2012. Baltimore is 2-2 in those contests (A drop pass and missed field goal in 2011 from 3-1). The Ravens have accomplished a lot in their relatively short history, and hosting a championship game can now be crossed off the list. The Ravens will either play the Buffalo Bills or Kansas City Chiefs with a trip to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on the line.
Main Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
