Ravens O-Line Puts on 'Best Performance' of Season

Nothing epitomizes AFC North and Baltimore Ravens football like the physicality that comes with each division matchup.

With the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers squaring off in the AFC Wild Card Round, that physicality was set to reach its crescendo at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday. Baltimore's offensive line was more than up to the task, as it was able to dominate in every phase in its 28-14 win over the Steelers to advance to the divisional round, where it will go on the road to face the Buffalo Bills.

For Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, he felt the performance by the Ravens offensive line was their best to date.

"I think so," Harbaugh said when asked if the offensive line had a signature performance. "[The Steelers are] a really good football team. That's a very physical defense. That's a tough defensive line. Their linebackers are downhill. I mean, we know Patrick [Queen, and Elandon] Roberts [is] a great player. Their guys on the edge are just a nightmare to deal with. They were crashing the ends off the edge. It was very physical. We were able to control the edges for the run game as much as anything, and how about our tackles in the pass game? It was not like we were chipping all the time when we were passing. I thought our tackles did a great job."

The Steelers' defense allowed an average of 98.7 rushing yards per game during the regular season, the sixth-fewest in football. They had no answers for the Ravens running game, as they ran for 299 yards and two touchdowns. Baltimore was the only team to run for over 200 yards against the Steelers, as it surpassed that mark in its two wins.

Running back Derrick Henry delivered a stellar debut in his playoff debut with the Ravens. He had 26 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns, including a 44-yard run into the end zone in the third quarter. Lamar Jackson was his typical dynamic self, running for 81 yards.

Among the Ravens' three scoring drives in the first half was a 13-play drive that was all running plays. Baltimore ran for the entire 85 yards and capped it off with an eight-yard run by Henry to give it a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

That drive was essentially what the entire game consisted of when the Ravens offense was rolling. For All-Pro center Tyler Linderbaum, the long drives where Baltimore was able to gash Pittsburgh on the ground were what he and other linemen hope for every time they touch the field.

"That's a lineman's dream," Linderbaum said. "Being efficient, moving the ball forward. We want them to get as tired as possible so that when it gets to that third and fourth quarter, we can keep running the ball. Proud of our guys."

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