Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 28-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Saturday night’s AFC wild-card game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Brian Wacker, reporter: The Ravens bullied the Steelers from the start. Behind their league-leading ground game, Baltimore controlled the tempo, the clock and the game. The Ravens also broke the Steelers’ spirits with the way Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry overpowered them. They also perhaps vanquished some ghosts of playoffs past, or at least against their biggest rival.
The regular season can often be a rouge for a team’s weaknesses, but the postseason exposes warts. Pittsburgh, which had lost four in a row coming in, was badly exposed. Even with the Ravens missing Zay Flowers, the Steelers showed little ability or fight to stop the NFL’s best offense. Chants of “MVP!” broke out for Jackson throughout the night as he finally played like one in the playoffs, while an ascending defense continued its dominance.
Childs Walker, reporter: Apparently, the Ravens were not nervous. They outgained their most vexing rival 308 yards to 60 before halftime as they built a three-touchdown lead. The Ravens opened with a show of strength, driving 95 yards, 68 of those on the ground, to go up 7-0. The Steelers could not figure out how to account for both Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson. It was the most impressive half of playoff football the Ravens have played in the Jackson era.
The Baltimore defense took away everything Pittsburgh wanted to do until Russell Wilson finally went over the top of cornerbacks Tre’Davious White and Brandon Stephens on a touchdown drive early in the third quarter. No problem. The Ravens answered with another display of ground force, finished by Henry’s 44-yard touchdown charge through the heart of the defense. There were tense moments with Pittsburgh down just 28-14 and driving in the fourth quarter, but the Ravens’ defense held when it needed to. This was exactly the launch the Ravens needed with more difficult competition ahead on the road to an elusive Super Bowl.
Mike Preston, columnist: All you need to know is that the Ravens had 300 yards of total offense in the first half and had a 21-0 lead. Zay Flowers? Who needs him? The Ravens took apart one of the NFL’s most storied franchises Saturday night, and they made it look easy. They ran at will with quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, which opened up the passing game. Jackson easily took the Steelers apart with short passes over the middle and in the flats. Defensively, the Ravens shut down Pittsburgh’s running game and controlled the Steelers’ short passing offense.
The game played out like most during the regular season. There are four good teams in the NFL: the Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. It’s like I’ve been saying since the Ravens lost the season opener to the Chiefs: It will be Baltimore against Kansas City in the AFC championship game. Then we’ll see if the Ravens are good enough to deny the Chiefs the opportunity to three-peat as Super Bowl champions for the first time in NFL history.
Sam Cohn, reporter: This is why Baltimore signed Derrick Henry in the offseason. Specifically for nights like Saturday’s, in frigid conditions, in which the hulking 245-pound bell cow back could play bully ball and go win the Ravens a playoff game behind 186 yards on 26 carries and two scores. The Ravens’ second-quarter scoring drive went 85 yards because of 13 plays — all on the ground — split between Henry, Lamar Jackson and one direct snap by Mark Andrews.
Of course, this quasi beat down wasn’t all Henry. Jackson had his fair share of plays that warranted “MVP” chants using all of his appendages. He spread the ball around in a manner that quickly eased any worries of an offense without Pro Bowl selection Zay Flowers. And outside of a few gaffes in the back end, the defense kept Pittsburgh’s offense quiet.
The Ravens won’t get any more questions about the Steelers having their number any time soon.
C.J. Doon, editor: Only the Ravens can fill a two-score playoff victory with some anxiety.
When it was 21-0 at halftime, Kirk Herbstreit and Tony Gonzalez were questioning the Steelers’ fight and lack of urgency. But things flipped quickly in the second half when Brandon Stephens and Kyle Hamilton had a miscommunication on Russell Wilson’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson. Then, even after a brilliant 44-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry, Wilson again marched the Steelers down the field and hit George Pickens for a 36-yard touchdown pass after he raced past rookie Nate Wiggins and shrugged off a bad tackle attempt by Ar’Darius Washington. Stephens was later beat by Pickens on a jump ball down the sideline. All of the sudden, old fears about a shoddy defense and leaky secondary started to bubble to the surface.
To make matters worse, the Ravens offense that completely dominated the first half — piling up 308 total yards, including 164 on the ground — started to sputter. Henry was stuffed on third-and-short to start the second half, and then Lamar Jackson threw a bad pass behind Isaiah Likely to end a woeful three-and-out. If not for Henry’s long run, the pressure on Jackson and company would have been almost unbearable. That third-down pass to Justice Hill and Mark Andrews’ fourth-down sneak (and/or the Steelers’ 12 men on the field penalty) to keep the chains moving early in the fourth quarter were huge, if just to settle Jackson down and kill some clock. Those are the kinds of winning plays that have been missing during some of the Ravens’ most painful losses over the years. That drive ended with a punt, but time mattered more than points at that juncture.
Does this game change your feelings about the Ravens’ Super Bowl chances? It doesn’t for me, at least not significantly. They still need to prove they can be consistent, not only week-to-week but over the course of a full 60 minutes. Their ceiling is still the highest in the league when Jackson and Henry are carrying the ball. The question is whether they can sustain those peaks long enough — and give Henry enough carries — to take down Buffalo and Kansas City. Maybe I’m being too negative, but this game would be a far different experience with Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes on the opposing sideline.
Tim Schwartz, editor: What a first half. That was about as dominant as the Ravens have looked with their star backfield duo of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Things got a little squirrelly in the second half, but they never lost their double-digit lead and the result never felt in doubt — and that’s all you can ask for when it’s win or go home.
The Steelers looked like they were planning their vacations in the first half while the Ravens simply ran them over with ease. If Jackson can stay upright and healthy — he did have a heating wrap on the sideline and appeared to get kneed in the back in the first half — he should continue to run the ball when the defense allows him. It’s nearly impossible to stop when the other option is Henry. Defensively, Ar’Darius Washington continues his rise, and the front did its job getting in Wilson’s face. A win is a win, but this Ravens team with his recipe seems destined for several more victories this postseason.
Bennett Conlin, editor: Is Derrick Henry the missing piece for the Ravens to make a Super Bowl run? He sure looked like it Saturday, throwing a vintage stiff-arm on Baltimore’s first drive, which ended in a gorgeous touchdown pass from Jackson to Rashod Bateman. The bruising tailback finished off the Ravens’ second scoring drive — a 13-play drive with only runs — with an 8-yard run through the middle of the Steelers’ defense.
Henry hit 100 rushing yards in the opening half, making Baltimore’s offense look nearly unstoppable with Jackson scrambling and throwing pinpoint passes. Even without Zay Flowers, the Ravens were explosive offensively. Jackson didn’t look like he was pressing — a concern in previous playoff games — instead playing calmly and taking what was available through the air and on the ground. The defense held up its end of the bargain, shutting out the Steelers in the first half and holding on in the final 30 minutes.
Yes, the skidding Steelers aren’t the Bills or Chiefs. It’s one thing to beat a Pittsburgh team that coughed up the AFC North title down the stretch. It’s another to beat two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL on the road, which is the scenario likely facing Baltimore in the next two weeks. But the Bills and Chiefs should be equally worried about this version of the Ravens. They’ll need their best to beat the NFL’s most dynamic backfield.
Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.