The Ravens advance to the AFC Championship

Written by: Nate Wyrsch •

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Lamar Jackson throws a ball

Overview

The Ravens took down the young Houston Texans team on Saturday, pushing them through to the AFC Championship.

The Ravens were simply just the better team, and the Texans had no answer for their running game. The Ravens will now host the winner of the Bills vs Chiefs game on Sunday.

Ravens' Key Performers

Lamar Jackson played one of the best games of his career thus far, shutting down all talk and allegations of him not being able to get it done in the playoffs. He completed nearly 73% of his passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 11 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He was phenomenal in the second half especially.

Overall, the Ravens' run game was dominant. Even outside Jackson, they had Justice Hill rush for 66 yards, Gus Edwards rush for 40 yards, and even Dalvin Cook rush for 23 yards. In all, they tallied 229 total yards on 42 rushes, going for an impressive 5.5 yards per carry.

Defensively, Baltimore shut down the Texans all night. Houston rushed for 38 total yards on 14 carries. CJ Stroud was under pressure all night and was unable to be effective due to this. The Texans' offense was also held out of the end zone by the Ravens' defense, with the only touchdown being a punt return.

Texans' Looking Forward

For Houston, this season is something that they should be proud of. Not only did they go from one of the worst teams in the league to playoffs in one season, but they also won the Wild Card round. They also have a true starting quarterback in Stroud and a good foundation.

They will likely have both the Offensive Rookie of the Year and the Defensive Rookie of the Year, which shows that they have laid a very solid foundation.

Going forward, they do need to work on their offensive line as that was a problem all night. They also could use a true running back that they can rely on for a whole season.

Conclusion

In all, Baltimore will be moving on to the AFC Championship for the first time since 2013. It is also the first time in Raven’s history that they will be hosting the game, so the crowd will most definitely play a role next week.

With Lamar Jackson playing like this and possibly getting Mark Andrews back, they have a really good chance at making it to the Super Bowl. The Ravens defense will be able to handle any offense thrown at them and they are in a very good spot for the AFC Championship.

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