BALTIMORE – The last time the Baltimore Ravens walked off the field at M&T Bank Stadium during the postseason, it was after they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 in the AFC championship game last January.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken and head coach John Harbaugh came under fire for abandoning the run despite trailing most of the game to Patrick Mahomes and the eventual Super Bowl champions. Quarterback Lamar Jackson rushed eight times for 54 yards, but with Gus Edwards as the No. 1 running back, Baltimore backs carried six times for 23 yards in the defeat.
The reversal Saturday during the Ravens’ 28-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wild-card playoff game couldn’t be starker. Signed this offseason in a suppressed running-back market, Derrick Henry carried 26 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns. The Ravens signed the former Tennessee Titan with a game like this in mind: cold (the kickoff temperature was 32 degrees with a wind chill of 23), against a physical opponent like Steelers…