Lamar Jackson emerged from Baltimore’s game last Saturday with a new lease on his career. The Ravens quarterback was previously haunted by playoff disappointments. While the Ravens’ 34-10 win over the Houston Texans won’t satisfy all the critics, Jackson showed he can produce magical moments on the big stage.
Jackson rushed for 100 yards and scored twice in addition to throwing for 152 yards and two touchdowns against the Texans. For the first time in nearly a decade, Baltimore looked like a postseason powerhouse. The Ravens did have some struggles before halftime.
Baltimore allowed a punt return for a score that allowed Houston to go into halftime with the game tied. However, after halftime, the Ravens’ defense made life difficult for Houston rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. While the Texans look like a team that will be great in the future, Baltimore showed how far Houston has to go to get there.
Now, Black sports news shows Jackson will be faced with the toughest challenge of his career. The Kansas City Chiefs will be coming to Baltimore next week and Jackson will have to try to guide his team past the defending Super Bowl champions. The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls in the past five seasons and will have a difficult challenge ahead trying to stop that streak.
The Texans likely won’t take many negatives away from the loss. Not many people expected Houston to be a serious contender to win the AFC South Division. The Texans found they have a quarterback for the future. Now, Houston just needs to find the complementary pieces to insert themselves into the title picture.
Mahomes Does it Again
The Buffalo Bills’ season ended like all of their seasons do: In horrible, agonizing pain. Tyler Bass’ game-tying field goal attempt in the final two minutes went wide right, and Kansas City picked up a 27-24 win.
This win was surprising because of how well the Chiefs’ offense moved the ball. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 17 of his 23 passes for two touchdowns. The Chiefs also ran the ball well, as Isiah Pacheco finished with 97 yards on 15 carries.
Pacheco scored the go-ahead run for Kansas City with 14 minutes and 20 seconds left in the game. After struggling in the first half, the Chiefs’ defense made life miserable for Bills quarterback Josh Allen down the stretch. The Bills didn’t score any points in the fourth quarter.
This was the third time in the last four years that Kansas City knocked Buffalo out of the playoffs. This was also the first time Mahomes played on the road during the playoffs. For the Bills, this loss could signal what could be a series of major changes.
Head coach Sean McDermott has helped change the culture in Buffalo. However, with a budding superstar quarterback, McDermott hasn’t been able to produce the postseason success the team would like. The Bills have made the playoffs in six of his seven seasons.
Buffalo is only 5-6 in the postseason during that stretch. With rumors coming out during the season of players being unhappy with McDermott and some of the things he’s said in meetings, he could be on thin ice heading into next season.
Lions Continue What Could be a Historic Season
Detroit will be crushed, and it has to leave Ford Field for Santa Clara next week. The Lions have shined during their past two home playoff games. Detroit never trailed during a divisional round win Sunday at Tampa Bay.
The Lions were able to lean on their rookies to help make big plays. Detroit rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs led the team with 74 rushing yards on nine carries and scored a touchdown. Lions tight end Sam LaPorta finished second on the team with nine catches for 65 yards.
The Buccaneers’ loss was a disappointing end for Baker Mayfield’s comeback story. Recent sports updates show the former first-round draft pick from the Cleveland Browns found a tremendous amount of success in Tampa Bay. Mayfield did throw for three touchdowns for the Buccaneers in the loss but was also intercepted twice.
It is unclear if the Buccaneers will want to move forward with Mayfield. He has talent but is undersized and has a history of rubbing people the wrong way. Tampa Bay will need to decide if Mayfield is capable of winning a Super Bowl.
49ers Survive Wild Finish
Jordan Love looked like the franchise quarterback the Green Bay Packers hoped he could be. However, the play that the Packers’ quarterback made that will be most remembered from last Saturday’s loss to San Francisco was his final throw.
Love had a chance to scramble away from danger but instead tried to do too much. Love fired a wild pass downfield that was intercepted by Dre Greenlaw. It was a difficult end to a nightmarish fourth quarter for Green Bay.
The Packers had an opportunity to take a seven-point lead but saw a kick by Anders Carlson go wide. San Francisco responded by going on a long drive that saw Christian McCaffrey score the game-winning touchdown on a short run. The 49ers are headed into the NFC Championship game worried about their quarterback play.
Brock Purdy looked shaky under center for San Francisco last week. The second-year 49ers’ quarterback couldn’t seem to figure out how to throw the ball in the rain. Purdy only completed 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards with one touchdown.
But Purdy was able to lead a game-winning touchdown pass when it mattered. Green Bay was disappointed with the loss but should feel better above Love’s potential moving forward. The Packers just hope that he won’t develop habits like former Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre had.
Favre won a Super Bowl with Green Bay, but spent the latter part of his career throwing soul-crushing interceptions. Top sports news show Love will have plenty of time to prove he can avoid that fate.
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