The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans both won Saturday to book their spot in Week 2 of the NFL play-offs.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were demolished by Baltimore’s ground game, with the Ravens winning 28-14.
Running back Derrick Henry had two rushing touchdowns while quarterback Lamar Jackson showed why he is in the running to retain the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.
Earlier, Houston’s defense stunned the Los Angeles Chargers to win 32-12 in the Wildcard Weekend opener.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has allowed just three interceptions during the 17-game regular season, but was intercepted four times on Saturday alone.
Baltimore and Houston were the higher seeds and therefore played at home, and they took full advantage to advance to the divisional round next week.
The Ravens are unleashed against the Steelers
Baltimore’s offense led the league in rushing yards this season, averaging 187.6 per game, and Henry had 186 himself against Pittsburgh.
The Ravens took a 21-0 halftime lead, racking up 308 yards of offense while the Steelers had just 59.
They opened the scoring on their first possession, with Jackson completing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman.
Henry then burst in before Jackson showed some sublime footwork to escape pressure before finding Justice Hill in the end zone.
Pittsburgh, which lost its final four games of the regular season, responded with a Van Jefferson touchdown run, only for Henry to burst in for a 44-yard score.
The Steelers closed the gap again late in the third quarter thanks to George Pickens, but the extra point proved to be the final score of the game.
The Ravens finished with 299 rushing yards – a franchise record for the playoffs – with Jackson contributing 81 passing for two touchdowns and 175 yards.
Texans defense stuns Chargers
Herbert and the Chargers finished the regular season strong to finish with an 11-6 record, better than Houston’s (10-7).
They made field goals on their first two possessions before a thrilling end to the first half allowed the Texans to take a 10-6 lead.
Just over two minutes before halftime, Houston quarterback CJ Stroud fumbled just in front of his own end zone, but recovered to complete a 34-yard pass midway through.
Stroud followed up with a 37-yard pass to Nico Collins and the pair connected again for the game’s opening touchdown. Houston even managed to add a basket before halftime.
The Texans then intercepted Herbert on successive drives, with safety Eric Murray returning the first for a 38-yard touchdown to lead 20-6, before Ka’imi Fairbairn added a field goal following the latter.
After Fairbairn’s third field goal, Los Angeles responded with an 86-yard touchdown run from Ladd McConkey, but the Chargers’ attempt at an extra point summed up their night.
Cameron Dicker’s kick was blocked and Houston’s D’Angelo Ross recovered the loose ball to direct it into the Los Angeles end zone to make the score 25-12.
Joe Mixon sealed the victory with a 17-yard touchdown run to finish with 106 rushing yards, while Collins had 122 receiving yards and Derek Stingley Jr claimed two interceptions.
Wildcard Weekend continues with three games on Sunday and concludes with one on Monday.
