The Ravens celebrated Lamar Jackson's 28th birthday in a team meeting Tuesday, but the star quarterback doesn't have any plans this evening.

"Not that I know of – there's probably a surprise or something. I'm chilling," Jackson said.

Jackson is staying "dialed in" as the playoffs open this week with the Ravens' mission clear: beat the rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round and keep marching towards their Super Bowl goals.

As amped up as Jackson is to get back to where the Ravens faltered last time, he is reminding himself to maintain that even-keeled approach this week in preparation and once he's back on the field in the postseason.

"I'm [usually] just too excited – that's all. [I'm] too antsy, that's all," Jackson said. "I'm seeing things before it happens like, 'Oh, I have to calm myself down.' But just being more experienced, I've found a way to balance it out."

This will be Jackson's fifth trip to the playoffs in his seven seasons. Asked what he's taken away from the previous experiences, Jackson said it's that a playoff game is "a lot slower."

Most players say things speed up in the playoffs, so Jackson was asked to clarify.

"It's just a lot of back-and-forth," he said. "That's what I mean by slow – like a lot of back-and-forth."

Jackson can't rush to get to the playoff game, and he also can't rush within it.

With Jackson at the helm of the Ravens offense, they have often jumped out to early leads on their opponents. By point differential, the Ravens were the best regular-season team in the league in 2019, 2020, and 2023. They've won a lot of blowouts.

But it often doesn't work that way in the playoffs. In every Ravens playoff loss with Jackson at the helm, the offense was slow out of the gate.

In Jackson's first wild-card playoff game as a rookie against the Chargers, the Ravens were shut out and had two turnovers in the first half. In 2019, they scored six points in the first half against the Titans. In 2020, the Ravens put up three points in the first half in windy Buffalo. In last year's AFC Championship, Baltimore scored seven points in the first half versus the Chiefs.

Even in the Ravens' two playoff wins with Jackson, they didn't get off to a roaring start. They trailed 10-0, against the Titans in the 2020 wild-card round on the road but rallied for a 20-13 victory. They were tied with the Texans, 10-10, at halftime in last year's divisional playoffs before pulling away for a 34-10 romping.

The Ravens would love to start fast against the Steelers in Saturday's game, but even if the game doesn't begin how they would want, Jackson and the Ravens have to know they're in for a long back-and-forth contest. They must remain patient.

"You have to try to be mistake free," Jackson said. "The game is won with the turnover battle and keeping the ball in your control – moving the ball down the field, getting first downs, putting points on the board, obviously. That's how you win those games."

Jackson's 2-4 playoff record is the only criticism Jackson's detractors have left these days for a man that's a top contender for a third MVP and has shattered numerous NFL records.

Jackson's teammates know how focused Jackson has been all season. They also know how much outside scrutiny there will be of Jackson's playoff performances, and they want to take some of the pressure off their leader.

A closer look at Jackson's playoff stats show a quarterback that has played well. It's going to take everybody around him playing at a high level, and that's what Jackson has been stressing all season while raising his own standard.

"It's our job to try to limit that, the pressure he's feeling, the anxiety he's feeling. When he's at his best, he's playing free and having fun," center Tyler Linderbaum said. "That's our job to try to get him in that state of mind."