Houston Texans 10-34 Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson rushes for two touchdowns as Ravens reach AFC Championship Game (2024)

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens moved within a game of Super Bowl LVIII as they overpowered the Houston Texans 34-10 in a bruising Divisional Round encounter to reach their first AFC Championship Game since 2012.

Jackson spearheaded a commanding victory for the No 1-seeded Ravens with 100 rushing yards and two scores on the ground, while also throwing touchdown passes to Isaiah Likely and Nelson Agholor on his way to the second playoff win of the likely MVP's career.

Defeat would bring an end to CJ Stroud's scintillating rookie campaign in Houston, where the first-round quarterback has revived a Texans franchise seeking direction to thrust DeMeco Ryans' side into unlikely contention.

Stroud finished the day 19 of 33 for 175 yards and no touchdowns as Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald underlined why he has garnered such strong interest as a head coach candidate around the league, his Baltimore unit muddying the picture with rotating pressures and coverages throughout the contest.

Baltimore leaned on the league's best run game as they scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from their opponents, teeing up a first home AFC Championship Game in the organisation's history. Awaiting them will be one of the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, who meet in Orchard Park on Sunday night.

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The Ravens wrestled control of both the tempo and the game during a dominant third quarter as Jackson punched in a 15-yard rushing touchdown on a designed quarterback run to make it 17-10 after Devin Duvernay had ignited the drive with a 37-yard kick return close to mid-field.

They limited Houston to a punt on their next series before Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken launched a 12-play, 93-yard drive that would last seven minutes and end in Isaiah Likely's 15-yard touchdown grab after Jackson had converted on fourth-and-one and Jonathan Greenard had relinquished a costly offsides penalty deep in Texans territory.

It was turn for Macdonald's Ravens defense to shine, a frantic blitz pushing Stroud out of the pocket and rushing him into a throwaway on third down at the start of the fourth.

The reward was yet another masterful clock-chewing drive from Monken's offense, the Ravens running down seven minutes on an 11-play 78-yard march punctuated by Jackson's eight-yard burst to the end zone, after which he continued his dash down the tunnel as if ready for next weekend's AFC Championship Game.

An ever-reliable Justin Tucker later added a 43-yard field goal to ice the game in the closing exchanges.

The Texans, guilty of eight penalties for 50 years in the first half alone, had missed the chance to take a 13-10 lead into half-time when Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a 47-yard field goal after Stroud had converted on third-and-13 earlier in the drive with a 29-yard strike to Nico Collins.

Baltimore had taken the lead on their opening drive with Tucker's 53-yard field goal as both sides set the tone early for a cagey defensive battle in which the patience of both quarterbacks was put to the test.

Fairbairn's 50-yard field goal levelled the score at 3-3 before Jackson tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to Agholor to cap an 11-play 76-yard drive propelled by scrambles of 23 and 15 by the Ravens quarterback, such was the pressure being applied to squeeze him out of the pocket.

Christian Harris preceded to blow up a third-and-11 attempt for Jackson and the Ravens, teeing up Sims as he returned the ensuing punt 67 yards to the house just three days after being signed off the practice squad.

Stats leaders:

Houston Texans

• Passing: CJ Stroud, 19/33, 175 yards
• Rushing: Devin Singletary, 9 carries, 22 yards
• Receiving: Nico Collins, 5 catches, 68 yards

Baltimore Ravens

• Passing: Lamar Jackson, 16/22, 152 yards, 2 TDs
• Rushing: Lamar Jackson, 11 carries, 100 yards, 2 TDs
• Receiving: Zay Flowers, 4 catches, 41 yards

Score summary

What did they say?

Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans: "Credit to Lamar. He made a ton of great plays. That's why he's the MVP."

Texans quarterback CJ Stroud: "Lamar is a dog. I've been a fan of his since high school. It's really an honour to share the field with a player like that."

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh: "Our fans are going to get a chance to cheer just as loud or louder than they did in this game, and they were amazing. I thought our fans were incredible. Man, it was deafening out there."

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson: "We've got to finish. Still in the playoffs, not in the dance yet. I'm looking forward to next week. I'm not even thinking of the Super Bowl until we handle business."

What's next?

The Ravens will now meet the winner of Sunday's clash between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in next weekend's AFC Championship Game, with a place at Super Bowl LVIII on the line.

Watch the the Detroit Lions take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8pm Sunday live on Sky Sports NFL, followed by the Kansas City Chiefs at the Buffalo Bills from 11.30pm.