BALTIMORE – You possibly can see Ravens fans shaking their heads at halftime of Saturday’s playoff game against the Texans.
Baltimore had just finished with three punts to finish the primary half. Lamar Jackson was struggling against a blitzing Houston defense and the rating was tied, 10-10.
Not again.
That was the prevailing mood within M&T Stadium. Since Jackson took over because the Ravens starting quarterback in 2018, the Charm City fans had been treated to sensible individual play. Jackson could be mesmerizing to observe when he takes off from the pocket and slices through the center of a defense. Jackson won the league MVP in 2019. He is anticipated to walk away with a second MVP award in just a few weeks.
But for all of his brilliance from September to December, his time with the Ravens also has been marked with struggles in January. He was 1-3 within the playoffs before Saturday’s game with five interceptions. He lost to the Chargers after the 2018 season. Then, he was blown out by the Titans after his 2019 MVP season when the Ravens entered because the No. 1 seed. A 12 months later, the Bills beat Jackson and the Ravens within the divisional round.
So, you possibly can understand the sensation of dread that hovered over the stadium similar to the freezing temperatures.
Then, Jackson turned that dread into delight.
The Ravens quarterback ran for 2 touchdowns and threw for one more on the Ravens’ first three possessions of the second half to steer the Ravens to a 34-10 victory over the upstart Texans.
Suddenly, the Baltimore faithful that had been sitting on their hands in the primary half were chanting “MVP” and singing along to “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
Jackson exorcised the ghosts of 2019 and silenced the doubters who questioned whether he could win within the playoffs. There will probably be one other game here next week with the Ravens hosting the primary AFC Championship Game on this city since Jan. 3, 1971 when the old Colts beat the Raiders to advance to Super Bowl V.
Jackson will square off with either Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen depending on Sunday’s playoff game in Buffalo, a heavyweight quarterback battle that will probably be dissected for the subsequent week.
There will probably be questions on how Jackson matches up, but nobody can query his playoff credentials anymore.
Jackson got some help from a stout defense that didn’t allow a touchdown, but there was not any query who did the heavy lifting to get the Ravens to at least one game away from the Super Bowl.
Because of this the Ravens didn’t entertain his trade request last March and as a substitute signed him to a five-year, $260 million contract in April. Jackson accounted for 252 of the Ravens’ 352 yards in the sport and all 4 touchdowns. He rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Things got tight for the Ravens late in the primary half when Steven Sims returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown to tie the sport at 10-10. The Ravens ended the primary half with two three-and-outs, including the Texans sacking Jackson twice on their final possession. That led to the halftime grumbling and head shaking.
You possibly can feel the difference in Jackson immediately within the second half. He hit Nelson Agholor for nine yards on first down, then Isaiah Likely for 19 yards, then Rashod Batemen for nine yards before running up the center for a 15-yard touchdown, allowing everyone within the stadium to see their breath again within the frigid Baltimore night.
He threw a 15-yard touchdown to Likely on the subsequent drive after which ran eight yards for his third touchdown of the half after that. Jackson kept running up the tunnel a la Bo Jackson after that final touchdown, ending a memorable night.
Any quarterback-needy team could have tried to sign Jackson last winter when the Ravens used the franchise tag on him. As a substitute, team after team let it’s known they weren’t interested.
The Ravens should send a thank-you note to those teams. After some tense moments early on Saturday, Jackson delivered for the Ravens within the second half.
The January doubts are dead. The February Super Bowl dreams are still very much alive.
