Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns in a flawless first half, Derrick Henry scored twice while leading Baltimore’s devastating running game, and the Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-14 on Saturday night to advance to the second round of the American Football Conference (AFC) playoffs.
The Ravens move on to face either Buffalo or Houston after jumping out to a 21-0 halftime lead and holding on against their AFC North rivals. Baltimore had a 19-2 advantage in first downs in the first half, when the Ravens produced touchdown drives of 95, 85 and 90 yards.
Henry ran for 186 yards, and Baltimore outrushed the Steelers 299-29. It was the most yards rushing allowed by Pittsburgh in a playoff game, breaking the mark of 232 set by the Oakland Raiders 51 years ago.
Photo: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images/USA Today
Jackson, the two-time Most Valuable Player still seeking a postseason breakthrough, made it clear from the start he was going to make Pittsburgh (10-8) defend his arm and his legs. He kept the chains moving, and the Ravens (13-5) were happy to advance the ball methodically against a Steelers team that has relied heavily this season on forcing turnovers.
Pittsburgh’s season ends with five straight losses, two of which came in Baltimore. The ending was a familiar story for the Steelers, who have lost six consecutive playoff games. The last three times they have been in the postseason, they have fallen on the road in games that have exemplified the gap between Pittsburgh and the conference’s true contenders.
The Ravens had 10 touchdown drives of at least 90 yards in the regular season, the most by a team since at least 2000. They started at their own 5 on their first possession and drove 13 plays for a touchdown.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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