The Ravens’ journey to the playoffs will continue.
Meanwhile, the Steelers will head into the offseason with a lot of questions to answer.
Baltimore clinched a spot in the divisional round with a 28-14 win over Pittsburgh in the AFC Wild Card round on Saturday night. The Ravens advance to the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year (they earned a first-round bye last year as the No. 1 seed overall in the AFC).
Here’s what we learned from Saturday’s game:
crow: These Ravens have what it takes to win a Super Bowl. That’s something Lamar Jackson & Co. haven’t been able to do in years past, despite their regular season success. That’s because of the Derrick Henry effect on the running game, which no longer has to rely so heavily on Jackson’s legs. The former Tennessee Titans star had 26 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Steelers, leading a Ravens rushing attack that generated 299 yards.
Henry had 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns in the regular season, but honestly, that’s not enough for these Ravens. The standard is to reach (and hopefully win) the Super Bowl after falling short in the playoffs repeatedly during the Jackson era, including a loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game last season.
Even if it’s against a struggling Steelers team, Henry’s power translated into the start of the playoffs is a much-needed sight for the franchise and provides some kind of relief. It’s also a reminder of how historically dominant Henry was at this point in the calendar. He entered the postseason averaging the most rushing yards per game (99.8) since December in the Super Bowl era, including the playoffs (minimum 30 games played). With Saturday night’s performance, he is now tied with Hall of Famer Terrell Davis for most playoff games with at least 150 rushing yards (4).
On the other side of the ball, Baltimore’s defense began to buckle in the third quarter, allowing several explosive passing plays against the Steelers. That won’t dwarf the size of an AFC offense a team might face in the divisional round or conference championship game. But the Ravens were good enough defensively in the first half (they posted a shutout win) and showed enough as the league’s No. 1 defense through eight weeks of the regular season that it wouldn’t matter too much how the Wild Card ended up. worry.
The bottom line is: The Ravens have Jackson, Henry, and a great defense. Yes, it hurts Baltimore to have leading receiver Zay Flowers out of the picture (at least temporarily) due to a knee injury. But overall, the team has everything it needs to make it to the Super Bowl. Any failure to represent the AFC in New Orleans should be considered a failure.
Steelers: This becomes the most pressing question in Pittsburgh. Who will be the starting quarterback in 2025?
A few months ago, Russell Wilson, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, had an easy answer. There was talk that he had signed a contract. at least $30 million per season. He eventually went from a heater to starting his tenure as the Steelers’ QB1. He played efficient football. He led Pittsburgh to a 6-1 record through his first seven games. But things fell apart offensively in the final four weeks of the season, and they all lost. His play regressed. Now add these playoffs to the conversation.
And then there’s Justin Fields, who is set to become a free agent. As Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher through the first six weeks of the season, he great. He made good decisions, didn’t turn the ball over and was a big threat rushing in with his legs. He is only 25 years old. However, he failed to show the ability to threaten the defense vertically. What Wilson was able to do when he was inserted as a starter was to spark Pittsburgh’s offense.
There really is no easy answer for the Steelers. Placed late in the first round, they won’t be in a position to grab a quarterback who would be considered a weak draft at the position anyway. Free agency is definitely something to look at if they don’t re-sign Wilson and/or Fields.
But despite that, is he playing better from his signal caller enough to lift a Steelers team that is currently on a six-game playoff losing streak?
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked at The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network. titans I beat the writer for a year and a half. he is Seattle Seahawks I was with SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) before moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter. @benyarthur.
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