Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have advanced to the AFC Championship. After the bye week, the No. 1 seed Ravens were able to take down the Houston Texans, 34-10, and it was thanks to an MVP-worthy effort from the presumptive award winner. In fact, as Jackson earned his first-ever home playoff win, he also entered extremely rarified air.
How rare? Jackson just became the first player in NFL history (regular season or postseason) to record two passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, rush for at least 100 yards, and register at least a 100.0 passer rating. Specifically, he finished his night 16-for-22 passing for 152 yards and two touchdowns through the air with a 121.8 passer rating. On the ground, he rushed 11 times for 100 yards and two scores.
Coming into this game, Jackson was looking to rid himself of a narrative that he’s struggled in the postseason. Prior to Saturday night, the Ravens QB was 1-3 in the playoffs (0-2 at home) and had four total touchdowns to go along with seven turnovers. In this victory, he matched his prior touchdown totals in those previous four games combined and didn’t commit a single turnover.
At the start, Jackson did look a bit shaky, but the Ravens offense flipped a switch in the second half, outscoring the Texans 24-0 thanks largely to Jackson’s heroics. He completed nine of his 11 passes in the second half for 100 yards, while rushing for 50 yards and recording three of his four total touchdowns. Jackson became the only quarterback in the last 30 seasons with three total touchdowns and 50 yards rushing in the second half.
Arguably his most important touchdown of the night came at the beginning of the fourth quarter when he connected with tight end Isaiah Likely. At the time, Baltimore had led by a touchdown and this score created some much-needed breathing room down the stretch.
On top of his record-setting performance, he also joined former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (2013) as just the second player in the Super Bowl era with two passing and rushing touchdowns, while also logging 100 yards on the ground in a single playoff game.
Thanks to his effort from Jackson, the Ravens are now one step closer to Super Bowl LVIII as they will play host to the AFC Championship for the first time in the franchise’s history. Baltimore will take on the winner of the Chiefs-Bills showdown that’ll take place on Sunday at Highmark Stadium on CBS.
