BALTIMORE — Nervous energy has defined the playoff Ravens in the Lamar Jackson era.
That’s just reality when you’ve been a home favorite in three of the four postseason losses started by Jackson — two coming as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Even last year’s 34-10 blowout win over Houston in the divisional round included a slow start and an uneasy 10-10 halftime score.
From a fan perspective, it didn’t help that Saturday marked the five-year anniversary of Derrick Henry and 10-point underdog Tennessee coming into Baltimore and stunning the top-seeded Ravens. Earlier in the day, the horrendous four-interception showing by Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert — who’d thrown three picks all year — reminded that regular-season success means nothing now.
Of course, Saturday’s opponent was the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, whose relative mediocrity in recent years hadn’t stopped them from winning eight of the last 10 meetings even after the Ravens’ 34-17 victory in Week 16. Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers being out with a knee injury didn’t help matters either.
But after acknowledging this week that he’s gotten “too excited” and “too antsy” in past playoff games, Jackson — very likely on his way to a third NFL MVP award after the finest season of his career — said he was “just cool throughout the day.” That old nervous energy — from him and the Ravens collectively — was nowhere to be found in the 28-14 dismantling of Pittsburgh to advance to the divisional round.
Yes, they embarrassed their longtime AFC North rival, who concluded the season on a five-game losing streak after leading the division by two games in early December. This one said plenty about what was under the hood for both teams, and the Ravens were the only ones left smiling.
Perhaps running the ball five times on Baltimore’s opening drive helped Jackson settle in quickly as the Ravens dominated from the opening whistle despite Pittsburgh’s attempt to start the game aggressively. After winning the coin toss, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin chose to receive instead of deferring and Russell Wilson came out throwing on three of the the game’s first four plays, but those changeups netted only a single first down and a punt to begin what would be a first-half shutout by the Baltimore defense.
Even being pinned back at their own 5-yard line — after returner Steven Sims muffed the punt — didn’t phase Jackson, Henry, and the offense as they moved 95 yards on 13 plays, a statement drive that featured a 34-yard run by Henry on a direct snap and culminated with a Jackson touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman on third-and-13 from the Pittsburgh 15.
It was quite a way to start what would be a playoff franchise-record 299-yard rushing day with Henry running for 186 — also a franchise playoff record — and Jackson 81. The Ravens’ 21 first-half points were more than their total output in five of Jackson’s first six career playoff starts.
“Whatever adversity you’re faced with, find a way to overcome and they did it with execution. They did it with physicality,” said head coach John Harbaugh about being backed up on that opening touchdown drive. “They did it by playing one play at a time, by being poised, and just understanding it’s going to be a long game. There’s going to be a lot of plays; let’s try to put as many good plays together as we could, and they just kind of kept it that simple.
“The running game makes it possible.”
That was certainly true a couple drives later when the Ravens ran 13 straight times for 85 yards, a run-only drive that ended with a Henry 8-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 before Pittsburgh had even collected its second first down of the night.
Talk about imposing your will.
Even after a touch of nervous energy threatened to creep into M&T Bank Stadium midway through the third quarter when Wilson threw a 30-yard touchdown to Van Jefferson to cut the lead to 21-7 and Jackson was sacked on the first play of the ensuing drive, Baltimore responded emphatically. A 21-yard completion to Tylan Wallace, a 15-yard run by Sims, and a Henry 44-yard touchdown run — a play on which several Steelers showed no interest in tackling the 247-pound running back — pushed the lead back to three touchdowns.
Having just surrendered a 98-yard drive, the Ravens needed all of four plays to score a touchdown.
Pittsburgh would score again to make it 28-14 late in the third quarter, but the Ravens held the ball for more than 12 minutes in the final period, squashing any thought of the Steelers seriously threatening.
As Pittsburgh safety and ex-Raven DeShon Elliott described it after the game, Baltimore “put belt to butt” against its division rival. The plus-270 rushing yardage margin marked the third largest in a game in NFL postseason history, per the Pro Football Network.
Of course, it only gets more difficult from here after the Steelers were exposed as a pretender over the final month of the season. If Buffalo defeats underdog Denver on Sunday, Jackson and the Ravens will be going on the road against fellow MVP candidate Josh Allen and the explosive Bills offense next weekend. The winner would then likely be on its way to Kansas City to take on Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs for the right to go to New Orleans.
The potential redemption story sets up to be special, but a dominant win against the Steelers — as satisfying as it feels in the context of the rivalry — guarantees nothing for the Ravens.
Still, the most complete playoff performance of the Jackson era squashed that old nervous energy felt too often this time of year and left the Ravens looking as dangerous and confident as ever, especially with Henry joining Jackson in the backfield.
In January.
“It means we need to do that each and every time — great preparation, great practicing. Guys just locked in,” said Jackson, who posted a playoff franchise-record 132.0 passer rating. “It’s a win-or-go-home mentality, and our guys are just showing that each and every down. It’s one play at a time. Things didn’t go our way all the time out there. We got stopped, had penalties, lost yards.
“But our guys just stayed with it, and that’s what happens in playoff games. We have to just stay locked in.”
