Ravens grind out AFC wild-card win over Texans

If the Baltimore Ravens are going to capture their first Super Bowl since 2012, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry will likely have everything to do with it.

Glimmers of the Lombardi Trophy are still far down the road, but the offensive duo, at least through the wild-card round, has more than held up their end of the bargain.

The Ravens bested the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-14 in their AFC wild-card battle on Saturday night in Baltimore on the back of their two heaviest hitters — Jackson and Henry — who combined for 267 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Jackson and Henry set the tone early for the Ravens with dominant first-half performances.

Jackson was 13-of-15 on completions with 144 passing yards in the first half as the Ravens took to the locker room with a 21-0 lead.

Baltimore reached the end zone on their first drive of the game — a methodical 13 play, 95-yard undertaking capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rashod Bateman. 

The biggest play of the drive came several snaps earlier when Henry took a direct snap and busted his way to the Steelers’ 12-yard-line, a gain of 34.

The Ravens’ second drive of the game was something of an outlier — lasting just six plays.

But Baltimore wouldn’t be held down for long — bouncing back on a third and fourth drive that looked largely similar to the first.

Henry accounted for the Ravens’ second touchdown — an 8-yard run at the end of a 13 play, 85-yard drive — and Jackson hooked up with running back Justice Hill on the third score of the evening.

That latter scoring drive — nine plays, 90 yards — took only 1:51.

Baltimore has dominated on both sides of the ball, with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers mustering together just 59 total yards in the half compared to the Ravens’ 308.

The second half offered more of the same. And while the Steelers were able to add two scores of their own, the Ravens’ offense couldn’t be contained.

Baltimore finished the contest with 464 total yards and 29 first downs.