Jackson, Ravens Dismantle Stroud's Texans

A game with many possible storylines quickly became a one-sided matchup as the Ravens defeated the Texans 34-10. Lamar Jackson silenced many doubters as he secured a playoff victory, albeit the naysayers will never relent unless and until Jackson wins a Super Bowl. 

While Lamar played a tremendous game, all hats must tip to this Ravens defense that played lights out on Saturday. Baltimore's defense won the triple crown this season for defensive points per game, total sacks, and total turnovers. It was a unit that flexed its muscles against a rookie QB in Stroud, holding him to only 175 yards passing. Despite being a rookie, Stroud did lead the league in passing yards per game, showing how masterful this performance from the defense was. It doesn't end there; while Houston may not have been a good rushing team this year, what Baltimore did in the run defense was impeccable. Houston's leading rusher ran for 22 yards on nine carries, averaging a measly 2.4 yards per carry. That was as good as it got for the Texan's rushing attack, as they had 38 rushing yards on 14 carries as a team. 

Of course, what Lamar Jackson did will not go unprecedented as the MVP front-runner put up another high-quality performance. Jackson went 16/22 for 152 yards with two passing touchdowns. Let's not forget, in typical Lamar fashion, he rushed for 11 carries and 100 yards with two more touchdowns. At halftime, the former MVP was vocally unsatisfied with his team, causing him to launch a couple of motivating curse words. Lamar wasn't the only one to contribute on the ground, as the rest of the Raven squad had 122 yards rushing combined. Justice Hill was very effective late in the game, running for 66 yards on 13 carries.

Houston vs Baltimore may have been a lopsided matchup this year, but moving forward, this matchup will be must-see football. These two young QBs are the future of this league and will continue to thrive as the faces of it. That said, the near future is this weekend's AFC Championship game, which will feature the league's very best. Mahomes will bring the Chiefs to the Bank to face Jackson and company in a showdown for the ages.