By Tiffany Williams –
At M&T Bank Stadium Saturday the Baltimore Ravens grabbed a 34-10 vi tory over the Houston Texans to own their first playoff game at home since January 6, 2013.
Lamar Jackson in Saturday’s win was amazingly epic completing 16-of-22 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, while adding eleven rushes for 100 yards.
In addition to two rushing touchdowns, Jackson had two passing touchdowns, connecting first with Nelson Agholor in the second quarter and then in the fourth quarter he connected with Isaiah Likely.
Jackson became the first player in NFL history to reach 100+ passing yards, 100+ rushing yards, 100.0+ passer rating, two passing TDs, and two rushing TDs.
Isiah Likely, who attended Malden High and Everett High in Massachusetts and helped lead both schools to the Division 1 State Championship, in Saturday’s win reeled in two catches for 34 yards, including a leaping 15-yard touchdown to help extend the Ravens lead in the fourth quarter.
With his 53-yard field goal and 32-yard field goal, Justin Tucker on Saturday surpassed Matt Stover for the most field goals made in Ravens postseason history. Tucker’s 53-yarder was his longest field goal in 2023 season.
In the first half of Saturdays contest, it was a 10-10 game at the end of the first half. Justin Tuckers 58-yard field goal added three points to the board for the Ravens in the first quarter, and Lamar Jackson connecting with Nelson Agholor in the second quarter to get a touchdown added another seven points for the Ravens.
Postgame when asked if the team was edgy or angry during halftime in the locker room and if the first drive in the second half allowed him to exhale, Lamar Jackson said, “I was angry. We had no other choice – the offense as a unit. We just weren’t putting points … Well, we scored once. The first half, [we threw] the ball a couple times in the first half, but we didn’t really have success. Our defense was playing lights out, but we’re not responding. So, we just had to dial in at halftime. Like Coach [John Harbaugh] said, ‘Get the ball out quick and let the defense play us honest,’ and that’s what we did.”
When asked about it taking the half for the team to click and how much he thinks that’s a result of almost three weeks of not playing a game and being back in the groove, Jackson said, “Everything can play a part in it. You can’t just say … We were rusty. It was windy, and it was cold as heck out there. Everything played a factor, but the thing about our team is we came out in the second half, and we did what we were supposed to do – put points on the board.”
In the second half the Ravens defense stopped the Texans from putting points on the board and the offensive side of the ball, Jackson in the third quarter grabbed his first postseason rushing touchdown and in the fourth quarter he grabbed his second postseason rushing touchdown, and his second postseason passing touchdown connecting with Likely. Justin Tucker made his 43-yarder with just 1:56 remaining in the fourth for the Ravens to tightly seal their 34-10 victory.
When asked the TD pass to Isaiah Likely and if Likely was asking for it, Jackson said, “No. The receivers call for the ball, and the tight ends cough at the ball when they feel like they have it, so that’s all he was doing. I feel like he was getting grabbed a little by No. 24. But I Just had to place the ball and throw it back shorter because he was undercutting, and he went up and made a great catch, and the rest is history.”
When asked about his his touchdown catch, Isiah Likely said, “It was a delayed corner route. Stingley Jr. played it great, and he tried to play it over the top. So, I just threw my hand in the air and caught it at its high point.”
Next up for the Ravens is their second home postseason game when they host the AFC Championship game for the first time in franchise history.
The last time the City of Baltimore hosted the AFC Championship game was in 1970 at Memorial Stadium. The Baltimore Colts beat the Oakland Raiders 27-17. It was the inaugural title game of the AFC.
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