The No. 2 seed Baltimore Ravens advanced to the AFC Championship for the second time in four seasons after knocking off the No. 3 seed Houston Texans, 20-13, in the AFC divisional round of the NFL Playoffs Jan. 15 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
The win also marked the third trip to the AFC title game in team history for the Ravens; they reached the conference championship in 2009 and 2001, the same year they won the only Super Bowl title in Ravens history.
The Ravens sealed the victory over Houston when:
All-Pro safety Ed Reed picked off Texans quarterback T.J. Yates, giving the ball to the Ravens with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Baltimore then killed the clock and held on for the win.
Most Outstanding Player of the Game:
Yates threw three interceptions to the Ravens’ defense, two of them picked off by third-year cornerback Lardarious Webb. Webb’s two-interception performance tied the team record, which was held by Ed Reed and former Ravens cornerback Duane Starks. Webb also finished with four pass deflections and four tackles.
Unsung Hero of the Game:
The Ravens didn’t have the greatest performance offensively versus the Texans, but managed to find the end zone twice, including a 10-yard touchdown pass caught by veteran receiver Anquan Boldin. Boldin led the team with four catches for 73 yards; nearly all four of his catches were extremely difficult to haul in. The crafty route runner sat out with an injury during the final two games of the season, but he showed no signs of rust today, being a go-to guy for the Ravens’ offense.
More Game Notes:
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco recently told the media that he doesn’t think they show him enough respect as a good player. But he backed up his talk with a decent performance against Houston, throwing two touchdown passes and committing no turnovers. He finished the game with a 97.1 passer rating.
Ravens star running back Ray Rice was contained throughout most of the game, rushing for only 60 yards on 21 carries.
On defense, Ray Lewis led the Ravens with eight tackles, but Baltimore still gave up 132 rushing yards and a touchdown to Texans running back Arian Foster. Before Sunday, the Ravens had never allowed a running back to rush for more than 91 yards in a playoffs game.
Next Up:
The Ravens advanced to face the No. 1 seed New England Patriots in the AFC title game in Foxboro, Mass. Kickoff is scheduled for Jan. 22 at 3 p.m.
