Premium Content
Sign Up
NFL Wild-Card Recap: Baltimore Ravens 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 14
2S4E40G Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, right, runs with the ball as teammate wide receiver Tylan Wallace, left, blocks Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
By
•
Baltimore Ravens
•
Pittsburgh Steelers
Unfathomably, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry were each once on the free-agent market — Jackson in 2023 on a non-exclusive franchise tag and Henry in 2024 after eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans.
The Baltimore Ravens took advantage of other teams’ hesitancy, retaining their franchise quarterback in Jackson on a five-year, $260 million deal, before pairing him this past offseason with a bruising running back in Henry on a modest two-year, $16 million contract.
The result? A monster with which the Pittsburgh Steelers had their hands full in a 28-14 wild-card round defeat.
The Ravens’ rushing attack — headlined by Jackson and Henry — picked apart the Steelers yard by yard, 299 in total, on 50 carries and helped build a 21-0 halftime lead that held up through the game’s end. Pittsburgh dropped its sixth straight postseason game, Jackson further proved his MVP mettle and Henry showed he isn’t slowing down at 31 years old.
PFF’s dedicated team of graders was hard at work, analyzing every player on every play in real time. The grades and data will be available after a thorough review tomorrow at noon ET.
In the meantime, we’ve gathered some high-level data and snap counts from the game to give you an early look. Our expert graders have also nominated the standout player of the game, highlighting exceptional performance on the field.
Sign up for PFF+ for in-depth analysis, PFF grades, Premium Stats, fantasy football tools, betting dashboards and much more!
HIGHEST-GRADED PLAYERS
- WR George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers (86.6)
- C Tyler Linderbaum, Baltimore Ravens (85.7)
- QB Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (84.9)
Note: Follow along with PFF’s in-game grading as our analysts evaluate every player on every play in real time! Grades will then be relocked 90 minutes after the final whistle as our first-run analysis is reviewed.
Click here to see PFF’s initial grades from this game!
PLAYER OF THE GAME
At the center of the Ravens’ run-focused game plan was, literally, the center. Tyler Linderbaum earned a game-high 83.3 PFF run-blocking grade after the first reviews. Linderbaum earned a positive grade on more than 25% of his run-blocking snaps and frequently paved the way for chunk gains from Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
