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The Baltimore Ravens are in the AFC Championship Game for the first time since they won Super Bowl XLVII in 2012-13.
On Saturday, Lamar Jackson and company used an uncontested second-half onslaught to rout the Houston Texans 34-10 in their Divisional Round matchup. The star quarterback, in particular, had a monstrous 252 total yards and 4 touchdowns (100 rushing, 152 passing, and two scores each) en route to his first ever conference title game.
After the game, he said:
“They motivated us to go put points on the board. They’re stopping an opposing team, a very good team, led by a great quarterback... It’s just, you know, the first playoff (game) we got past. So still got more work to do.”
During the game, ESPN's cameras managed to catch a glimpse of this fan who facially resembled late activist Martin Luther King Jr.:
This led some fans to wonder if he had returned from death to watch Jackson and the Ravens play:
"Lamar had a Drrreeeeeeeaaaaam" - a fan posted
Other key contributors in the Ravens’ Divisional Round rout of Texans
The Ravens’ desire to keep the Lamar Jackson era going needed the right pieces around him, and Saturday arguably proved why that had been the case.
The team had a monstrous 229 rushing yards; and while the quarterback had most of them, he also had a strong supporting cast. Long-serving running back tandem Justice Hill and Gus Edwards combined for 106 yards on 23 carries, with the former also catching two passes for 11 yards, while Pro Bowl veteran Dalvin Cook had 23 yards on eight carries in his team debut.
In the air, rookie Zay Flowers led the way with 41 yards on four catches while Rashod Bateman had 39 on three. Jackson’s two passing touchdowns went to Nelson Agholor and tight end Isaiah Likely, who started in place of Pro Bowler Mark Andrews, who is still recovering from leg and ankle injuries.
While the defense failed to register a single sack against their Texans counterparts’ three, they did force five punts, as well a crucial turnover on downs with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
