Lamar Jackson is one of the game's best passers, but his legs are still second to none.
In Baltimore's 28-14 wild-card playoff win over the Steelers, Jackson wasn't shy about running through Pittsburgh, carrying the ball 15 times for 81 yards. On the Ravens' first drive, he ran on five straight plays.
Jackson averaged a career-low 8.2 rushing attempts per game in the regular season, but it's the playoffs now. He knows it's win-or-go-home, and he's pulling out all the stops.
"I see Lamar on a mission," tight end Isaiah Likely said. "I tell you all the time, his focus is sharp and that's what he preaches all of the time. He doesn't care how it looks on the stat sheet, all he wants to get is a 'W.'"
The Ravens got off to a hot start Saturday night in big part because of Jackson's rushing ability. On Baltimore's opening drive, Jackson converted two third downs with his legs, and two drives later, he had 40 rushing yards as the Ravens took a 14-point lead.
Jackson said he wasn't expecting to run that much, but "it's football." "You never know what's going to happen during the game, so you just have to be prepared," he said.
While Jackson did a lot of damage on the ground, he was still smooth through the air. He went 16-of-21 for 175 yards and two touchdowns, the first on a perfect throw to Rashod Bateman on 3rd-and-13.
"When you have 8 running the ball and throwing the ball like that, he's unbelievable," tight end Charlie Kolar said.
The Ravens finished with 299 rushing yards behind Jackson and Derrick Henry, who had a Ravens postseason record 186 rushing yards. When the Steelers crashed down on Henry early on, Jackson kept the ball and ran. When they started focusing on Jackson, he handed off to Henry.
"It's just making my job a lot easier," Jackson said of Henry. "We just piggyback off each other."
It was a performance Ravens fans dreamt of when Henry signed in Baltimore last offseason, and it springboarded the Ravens to the Divisional Round.
Another big matchup looms next weekend, but the tandem of Henry and Jackson will be hard to stop when they're both running like they did Saturday night.
"It shows that the defense is going to have to play him as well," Likely said. "With 'DH' back there in the backfield, you're going to have to come for '8' also. He showed he wasn't going to slide. He was going to take as many yards and as much contact as they were going to give him."
