Top NFL seeds move on: Ravens dominate Texans, 49ers edge Packers
Divisional Round Saturday saw the respective top seeds in the AFC and NFC doing battle against two up-and-coming teams and their already-have-arrived star quarterbacks.
Both No. 1 teams move on to host their conference championships, but the two games that got them there played out quite differently.
In Baltimore, it took the Ravens a half to knock of the rust, but when they did, they knocked C.J. Stroud and the Texans all the back to the Lone Star State.
In the Bay Area, the NFC’s top team, the 49ers, muscled their way past rainy conditions, their own struggling quarterback, and a confident, well-coached opponent to escape with a hard-fought win.
Here’s a closer look at Saturday’s action.
Baltimore 34, Houston 10
Soon-to-be MVP Lamar Jackson accounted for four touchdowns, and the Ravens’ defense pitched a shutout in the second half as the home team rudely ended the remarkable season of rookie C.J. Stroud and the Texans.
The win to advance to the AFC title game was not without its speed bumps. But when Baltimore's offense needed a play, Jackson's legs took over the game.
Tied 3-3 at the start of second quarter, Jackson reeled off runs of 23 and 15 yards, the latter setting up a goal-to-go situation at the Houston 2-yard line. Jackson then threw a three-yard pass to receiver Nelson Agholor, putting the Ravens up 10-3.
Then the big play of the first half: Houston’s Steven Sims returned a punt 67 yards to tie the score.
It remained tied until Houston's final drive of the half, when Nico Collins asserted himself, catching a 29-yard pass on 3rd-and-13, then a 16-yard completion to move the ball into field goal range. But placekicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a 47-yard attempt and the half ended with the teams deadlocked, 10-10.
For those who at halftime were questioning whether this year’s Ravens was worthy of a top seed, the team's performance in the second half put those doubts to bed.
The Ravens peeled off 24 unanswered points, getting their own special teams boost when returner Devin Duvernay ran the second-half kickoff to near midfield. It took Baltimore six plays to march the 55 yards, with Jackson scrambling up the middle for a 15-yard score.
Houston tried to answer on its first drive of the third quarter with its running game, but the Ravens defense, led by linebacker Roquan smith (five tackles), stuffed Devin Singletary all day. A Houston punt downed the Ravens inside their own 10. Then Jackson and the Baltimore offense took the game by the vitals.
A 21-yard pass from Jackson to Roshad Bateman moved the Ravens from out of the shadow of their own goalposts. (Bateman was one of eight Ravens to catch a pass). On a 4th-and-1 from the Houston 49, Jackson used some sneaky ball-handling to rip off a 15-yard run. At the start of the fourth quarter, tight end Isaiah Likely made a leaping 15-yard TD catch over a Houston defender to extend the Ravens’ lead to 24-10.
As a great pitcher throws a shut-down inning after his team puts runs on the board, the Ravens’ defense locked down Stroud and the Houston offense after Likely's TD, forcing a three-and-out from Houston.
Looking to take time off the clock, Baltimore turned to its ground game. The offensive line began dominating, and the Ravens ran the ball on 10 of the 11 plays to cover 78 yards, with Jackson capping off the march with his second touchdown run.
The Texans’ offense could get nothing going on offense in the second half. Stroud threw for just 44 yards after intermission. Collins was held to one catch. Singletary finished with 22 yards on nine attempts. The Ravens’ defense was all that and then some in locking down one of the AFC’s most dynamic attacks.
If, for the remainder of the playoffs, they play the way they did in the second half, the Ravens will hoist the Lombardi in February. The loss in no way diminishes what for Houston was a remarkable Cinderella-story of a season. And with C.J. Stroud at the helm of your future, that future looks bright indeed.
San Francisco 24, Green Bay 21
Christian McCaffrey, the NFL’s leading rusher, ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns, as the 49ers overcame rainy conditions, penalties and a sloppy performance by Brock Purdy to beat the visiting Packers and move on to the NFC Championship Game.
The 49ers will host the winner of Sunday’s Tampa Bay-Detroit matchup.
McCaffrey’s second TD punctuated a 12-play, 69-yard drive that put San Francisco in front with 1:07 left. On the ensuing Packers’ drive, linebacker Dre Greenlaw intercepted a Jordan Love pass to preserve the win.
Despite the 49ers being favored by 10.5 points, the game seemed to be a playoff ouster months in the making. Midway through the fourth, the Niners defense, a supposedly talent-rich but underperforming unit for most of the season, had just given up a 53-yard run to RB Aaron Jones. A Green Bay TD would put the Niners away. A field goal would have at likely ensured a tie. But rookie kicker Anders “I just pray” Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal, giving the heretofore struggling Purdy and the offense the opening they needed.
Purdy finished 23-of-39 for 252 yards and one TD but, starting early, he uncharacteristically misfired on a number of passes. Concerns about his ability to throw a wet football surfaced after a Week 5 loss in Cleveland. He started out this game wearing a glove, which he eventually discarded not long after Packers safety Darnell Savage dropped what looked to be a sure-fire pick six.
Savage’s drop and Carlson’s late-game miss were not the only points Green Bay left on the field.
The Packers dominated the first quarter, taking a 3-0 lead on the opening possession of the game. In the second quarter, the Packers failed on 3rd- and 4th-and-1 from the Niners 14-yard line. Another break the Packers were not able to capitalize on: a should injury to the Niners’ Deebo Samuel, on the Niners’ first possession, which sidelined the star receiver for pretty much the remainder of the game.
The 49ers broke through following the turnover on downs. Purdy engineered an 86-yard drive, lofting a 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle to give the 49ers their first lead. A second Carlson field cut the lead to 7-6.
The 49ers, held to just three offensive possessions in the first half, drove to the Green Bay 30. But questionable clock management in their two-minute offense resulted in a Jake Moody 48-yard field goal attempt that Green Bay blocked.
After a first half of long drives coming up empty, both offenses came alive in the third quarter. The Packers caught a break on their first possession when a 41-yard pass-interference penalty on 3rd-and-15 put the ball inside the San Francisco 20. The Packers capitalized on the next play; Bo Melton broke wide open for a 19-yard TD catch when Niners safety Tashaun Gibson fell down. (Along with Purdy throwing a wet ball, another theme was 49ers players, especially defenders, losing their footing on the slick field.)
The 49ers quickly answered Melton’s score, reclaiming the lead on a McCaffery 39-yard TD run.
But that lead was brief. The Packers’ Keisean Nixon took the ensuing kickoff 73 yards deep into 49ers territory. Four plays later, Love found TE Tucker Kraft on a three-yard TD pass and, following a successful two-point conversion, the Packers were up, 21-14.
Love finished 21-of-34 for 194 yards, two touchdown passes, and the two INTs, the first of which ended a string of six consecutive games without an interception. His offensive line, stout against Dallas, again provided the young QB ample time to throw. And, as we’ve pointed out for weeks, the 49ers pass rush — outside of a couple key passing downs in their red zone — did not apply much pressure, failing to sack Love even once.
But they did turn him over twice. Greenlaw snared the first of his two INTs late in the third quarter. That resulted in a Moody field goal, on the first play of the fourth, to bring San Francisco with four points, 21-17.
In need of a stop, the 49ers' defense forced Green Bay’s first punt of game. A deep Purdy pass to a leaping Jauan Jennings on 3rd-and-10 moved San Francisco to the Green Bay 40. Replacing the injured Samuel, Jennings caught five passes on the night for 61 yards. Kittle led all 49ers pass-catchers with 81 receiving yards on four catches.
After Jennings’ acrobatic grab, however, the 49ers advanced no farther. Purdy missed badly on back-to-back throws, and the Niners had to punt.
Still up 21-17 midway through the fourth, with his team pinned at its own 10-yard line, Jones’ made his long bolt into San Francisco territory, putting the Packers at the doorstep of a win. Jones finished with 108 yards, the first back to break the century mark against the Niners run defense in the last 51 games.
But Green Bay got no closer than the San Francisco 23. That’s when Carlson pulled his 41-yard field goal attempt wide left with 6:43 remaining.
Purdy more than salvaged his tough day on San Francisco’s final drive, going 6-of-7 for 48 yards. A great diving catch on third down by Brandon Aiyuk (three catches, 32 yards) extended the drive. Completions to Chris Conley and Kittle, and a Purdy scramble took the ball to the Packers’ 6-yard line. On the next play, McCaffery scored his second TD as he did his first — a tackle-breaking burst up the middle.
Moody’s extra point gave the Niners the three-point margin of victory, a win sealed when Greenlaw made a terrific diving interception, after Love, scrambling to his right, threw late and back across the field.
The 49ers escaped with a victory, but questions will bubble heading into the NFC title game, Deebo Samuel’s injured shoulder being foremost among them. Wet weather could still be in the forecast and, if it is, Purdy’s issues throwing a wet football — a replay of one incompletion showed Purdy wiping his throwing hand on his pants during his dropback — will be dissected all week. But Purdy also answered a lot of questions in leading San Francisco to a comeback win. Though one has to ask why so many questions surround a Pro Bowl quarterback who now is 3-1 as a starter in playoff games.