Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry set a playoff record in a rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Saturday’s Wild Card game, rushing for more yards against the Steelers’ defense than any individual has in the 65 postseason games Pittsburgh’s participated in.
Currently sitting at 169, Henry broke a long-standing mark set by New England Patriots RB Curtis Martin during the 1996 season. Martin rushed for 166-yards in a Divisional Round win over the Steelers. Henry easily smashed through that figure, reaching 155 by the end of the third quarter thanks to this 44-yard touchdown run that ended any inkling Pittsburgh had of getting back into the game.
Baltimore ran at will the entire game, once going on a 13-play drive consisting solely of rushes and scrambles to punch the ball in the end zone. On Henry’s run, the Ravens set a team record for most playoff rushing yards against the Steelers. That broke an even older record set by the Oakland Raiders’ 232 in 1973.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Raiders were the only team to rush for at least 200 on the Steelers in the postseason. Baltimore blew the doors off that number. Before Henry’s showing, Martin was the only player to eclipse even 140-yards against the Steelers, the next-closest coming from the Denver Broncos’ Terrell Davis and his 139 in the 1997-1998 season.
Pittsburgh’s defense had zero answer for Baltimore’s zone read. When they focused on Henry, Lamar Jackson ran at will. When they focused on Jackson, Henry split the defense up the middle. And Jackson used his legs to scramble out of trouble, often finding a downfield outlet to target but scrambling when required.
Across their last two matchups, Henry rushed for over 300-yards while the Ravens rushed for well over 400-yards. Pittsburgh’s run defense made few plays and was beat up at the line of scrimmage. In moment, defenders showed half-hearted effort or interest in tackling, leading to their willpower being called out by Amazon commentator Kirk Herbstreit.
The Steelers end their season like the recent others, one-and-done and staring down a continued playoff drought without many answers as they begin a long offseason.
