Lamar Jackson stars as Ravens defeat Texans 34-10 to advance to the AFC Championship Game
Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more on Saturday, helping the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens pull away from the visiting Houston Texans in the second half to win 34-10 in an AFC divisional playoff game.
The Ravens will host either the Bills or the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. The other AFC semifinal, between Buffalo and Kansas City, is scheduled for Sunday.
Baltimore scored 24 unanswered points in the second half, including touchdowns on each of its first three possessions after halftime.
Jackson broke a 10-10 tie with a 15-yard touchdown run less than three minutes into the third quarter, capping a 55-yard drive. On the second play of the fourth quarter, he made it 24-10 by rolling right and flipping a 15-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely, capping a 93-yard drive that took 7:03.
With 6:20 left in the game, Jackson sealed the victory by running 8 yards for a touchdown, capping a 7:10 march. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 152 yards and gained 100 yards on 11 carries throughout the game.
"We studied those guys like no tomorrow," Jackson told ESPN following the game. "We had the bye week, but we still stayed locked in and focused. ... Started off slow first half, but second half, we dialed up and we started connecting."
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled against the Baltimore defense. He completed 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards, but the Houston offense failed to reach the end zone for the second time in as many games against the Ravens. However, the fourth-seeded Texans, who defeated the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round, were nearly ahead at halftime.
"This wasn't our moment right now, this wasn't our time right now, we didn't get it done," Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said. "But I'm proud of each and every coach and player in the locker room for what we've accomplished throughout the entire year, how we grew through the entire year, and I'm proud of our guys.
"That's what I told all our guys, keep your head up. Like, credit to the Ravens, but man, proud of each and every man."
Houston responded to Jackson's 3-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor with 9:14 remaining in the second quarter with some special-teams magic. Steven Sims took a line-drive punt at his 33, burst up the middle, broke a weak tackle attempt, and sprinted 67 yards for a game-tying touchdown at 4:17 in the second quarter to make it 10-10.
Houston had a chance to take the lead late in the quarter, but Ka'imi Fairbairn, who had connected on a 50-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, missed a 47-yard attempt wide right with 32 seconds remaining.
Justin Tucker opened the scoring for Baltimore with a 53-yard field goal at 8:36 in the first quarter. He also hit a 43-yard field goal to cap the scoring.
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