by Noah Trister
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson handed off to Derrick Henry, then slid out to the left as if he still had the ball. A couple linebackers shifted into Jackson’s path, leaving the middle open for Henry to run through for a 44-yard touchdown.
That’s the quandary Jackson and Henry create for defensive players. First, they have to figure out who has the ball — and if enough people are out of position, either Baltimore star can make you pay.
Jackson threw for two touchdowns in a flawless first half, Henry scored twice while leading Baltimore’s devastating running game, and the Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-14 on Saturday night to advance to the second round of the AFC playoffs.
Jackson and Henry had the Steelers chasing shadows all night as Baltimore outrushed Pittsburgh 299-29. It was the most yards rushing allowed by Pittsburgh in a playoff game, breaking the mark of 232 set by the Oakland Raiders 51 years ago.
“My dad’s proud. Jack Harbaugh’s proud right now. He likes to pound the rock,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Derrick Henry was running hard, physical. Lamar started it off. Lamar carried the ball at different times in the first drive or two.”
The Ravens move on to face either Buffalo or Houston after jumping out to a 21-0 halftime lead and holding on against their AFC North rivals. Baltimore had a 19-2 advantage in first downs in the first half, when the Ravens produced touchdown drives of 95, 85 and 90 yards.
Henry ran for 186 yards.
Jackson, the two-time MVP still seeking a postseason breakthrough, made it clear from the start he was going to make Pittsburgh (10-8) defend his arm and his legs. He kept the chains moving, and the Ravens (13-5) were happy to advance the ball methodically against a Steelers team that has relied heavily this season on forcing turnovers.
“They understood how to win a football game like this,” Harbaugh said. “It’s one thing to know it, it’s another thing to execute it and do it, and they did it.”
Pittsburgh’s season ends with five straight losses, two of which came in Baltimore. The ending was a familiar story for the Steelers, who have lost six consecutive playoff games. The last three times they’ve been in the postseason, they’ve fallen on the road in games that have exemplified the gap between Pittsburgh and the conference’s true contenders.
“They were the better group today. That was obvious,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “The X factor was Lamar’s unique talents. It seems like every time we got him behind the sticks, he made up for it.”
The Ravens had 10 touchdown drives of at least 90 yards in the regular season, the most by a team since at least 2000. They started at their own 5 on their first possession and drove 13 plays for a touchdown.
The Steelers have made a habit recently of winning tight games against the Ravens, capitalizing on Baltimore mistakes. The Ravens avoided that problem Saturday, taking few major risks.
They did get creative on the first drive, lining Henry up for a direct snap from center while Jackson came across and faked a sweep. Henry kept the ball for a 34-yard gain. Jackson capped the possession with a 15-yard scoring strike to Rashod Bateman, who was Baltimore’s top healthy receiver with Zay Flowers (knee) unavailable.
Jackson went 16 of 21 for 175 yards and rushed for 81.
Henry made it 14-0 with an 8-yard run with 4:09 left in the half, and the Ravens didn’t attempt a single pass on that 13-play drive. After a Pittsburgh punt, the Steelers called timeout on third-and-2 from the Baltimore 18, hoping to get the ball back, but the Ravens converted and then quickly moved into position to score.
On second down from the Pittsburgh 5 with 11 seconds left, Jackson nearly used up the remaining time scrambling around, but he eventually dumped the ball off to an open Justice Hill, who went into the end zone with 2 seconds remaining.
“I just think in his head, he knows what 11 seconds is,” Harbaugh said. “The clock was going a little faster for me in my mind. I’m like, ‘Throw that thing away.’ He threw it, it was a touchdown. All I can say is ‘wow’ — I think I said ‘wow’ about seven times right there.”
The Steelers drove 98 yards for a touchdown on their first second-half possession, with Russell Wilson throwing a 30-yard scoring pass to Van Jefferson. Baltimore quickly answered when Henry broke free up the middle for his 44-yard TD.
Wilson answered with a 36-yard touchdown strike to George Pickens in the third, but that was it for the scoring. Wilson went 20 of 29 for 270 yards on a night when neither team turned the ball over.
Big day
This was the second-highest rushing total of Henry’s postseason career — and the only bigger one came in the same stadium five years earlier to the day. On Jan. 11, 2020, as a member of the Tennessee Titans, he ran for 195 yards in a win over Jackson and the top-seeded Ravens.
“I can just hand the ball off — 10 yards, 20 yards, 30 yards and I’m just chilling,” Jackson said. “When they’re attacking him and I go, I’m fresh. Just making my job a lot easier. We just piggy-back off of each other.”
Injuries
Pittsburgh T Dan Moore Jr. injured an ankle. … Jackson said he took a knee to the back and was wrapping it but wasn’t limited by the issue.
Up next
The Ravens need Denver to win at Buffalo on Sunday if they’re going to host a game next weekend. If that happens, Houston would come to Baltimore. If not, Baltimore would head to Buffalo for a matchup between Jackson and fellow MVP candidate Josh Allen.
The Steelers enter the offseason after Wilson and Tomlin were able to get them to the playoffs, but a once-promising season ended with a thud.
