Lamar Jackson ended his wait for a playoff win as he helped the Baltimore Ravens rally from an early deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 20-13 in the Wild Card round.
Tennessee had won three of the previous four meetings between the teams – including a 28-12 triumph in the postseason last year – and looked on course to prevail again when they moved 10-0 ahead in the first quarter.
Ryan Tannehill capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown that opened the scoring, with the Titans adding a Stephen Gostkowski field goal that came after a Jackson interception.
However, the Ravens regrouped after a sluggish start and, crucially, shut down the threat of Titans running back Derrick Henry.
A Justin Tucker field goal provided their first points before Jackson made amends for his earlier turnover with a stunning 48-yard touchdown run.
J.K. Dobbins went in from close range to give Baltimore the lead for the first time and while a Gostkowski field goal cut the deficit to four points, the Titans were simply never able to get closer.
Baltimore restricted Henry – the NFL's leading rusher in the 2020 season – to a mere 40 yards on 18 carries, while Tennessee managed only 12 first downs in total on offense.
Tucker's second field goal of the contest opened up a seven-point cushion and the Ravens emphatically ended a late drive from their opponents when Marcus Peters intercepted a tipped Tannehill pass.
Turning point – Jackson shows his value
Baltimore's quarterback could no doubt feel the pressure when he was picked off early, considering his 0-2 career record in the postseason.
Yet Jackson displayed just why he is the reigning NFL MVP with his touchdown before half-time, the second-longest rushing score by a QB in playoff history.
Henry stifled, Ravens run free
'King' Henry had 2,027 yards in the regular season, including three games where he topped 200 yards or more, yet was completely locked up here. Such was his lack of impact, Tennessee opted not to even go for it in a fourth-and-short situation in the fourth quarter when trailing.
In contrast, the Ravens had 236 yards on the ground as a team. Dobbins scored for the seventh game in a row but it was Jackson who contributed the most, going for 136 yards on 16 carries.
What's next?
The Ravens - who were 6-5 at one stage in early December - will wait to see where they travel next, depending on the result of the game between Pittsburgh and Cleveland later on Sunday. Still, they will face a daunting trip no matter what, either taking on the Kansas City Chiefs or the Buffalo Bills in the next round.
As for Tennessee, there will be a horrible feeling of history repeating. They had won the AFC South for the first time since 2008 – a campaign that ended with a 13-10 defeat to Baltimore in the playoffs.
David Montgomery hat-trick lifts Detroit Lions over Green Bay Packers
Three touchdowns from running back David Montgomery lifted the Detroit Lions to a 34-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Montgomery found the endzone twice in the first half and again in the fourth quarter to clinch the visitors’ third win of the season.
The Packers were able to impact the scoreboard early, gaining a 3-0 lead with a field goal from their opening drive.
However, they had to wait a long time between drinks from there, as the Lions hit back with three touchdowns and two field goals to take a 27-3 lead into half-time.
Green Bay were able to stem the tide in the third quarter, holding Detroit to nil while picking up a touchdown through wide receiver Christian Watson.
They inched closer at the start of the fourth thanks to a nine-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jordan Love, but their comeback bid was officially ended when Montgomery picked up his third touchdown with six minutes remaining.
Love finished with 246 passing yards to go along with a touchdown and two interceptions, while Detroit quarterback Jared Goff threw for 210 yards, a touchdown and an interception of his own.
Philadelphia Eagles turn up the Hurts on Tampa Bay to remain unbeaten
The Philadelphia Eagles maintained their perfect start to the season, proving too strong for previously unbeaten Tampa Bay.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts led his team to a 25-11 win as he masterminded a game-deciding drive that lasted nine minutes.
Hurts threw for 277 yards and scored a touchdown while running back D’Andre Swift racked up 130 yards on 16 carries.
The Eagles are 3-0 for the second successive season and join Miami and San Francisco as the only unbeaten sides.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow shook off a calf injury to throwing for 259 yards to beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 for the Bengals’ first win of the season.
Burrow, who picked up the injury in pre-season and aggravated it against Baltimore last week, only returned to training on Thursday.
Running back Joe Mixon’s 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the AFC North champions their first lead of the season.
Logan Wilson intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice and he was sacked six times.
Chargers wide receiver Williams out for season with torn ACL
The Los Angeles Chargers will be without star wide receiver Mike Williams for the remainder of the 2023 season after an MRI confirmed he tore his ACL in Week 3, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Williams went down in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 28-24 road win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after recording seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Williams entered Monday’s action ranked 12th in the league in receiving yards (249), tied for 12th in targets (26) and tied for 13th in catches (19).
Since being selected seventh overall by the Chargers in the 2017 NFL Draft, Williams has 309 receptions for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Los Angeles lost its first two games by a combined five points before defeating Minnesota.
The Chargers went 10-7 last season and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They led by 10 points after three quarters in the wild-card round at Jacksonville before the Jaguars rallied for a 31-30 victory.
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