Ravens fall to Bills in AFC Divisional, Jackson leaves game in concussion protocol

Trailing by 14 in the fourth quarter, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was hit hard in his own end zone and would leave the game. It was the beginning of the end for Baltimore.

The quarterback was taken to the locker room in concussion protocol and later declared out for the rest of the game. The Ravens fell 17-3 to the Bills in the AFC Divisional, ending Baltimore’s season at 12-6.

A low scoring affair in the first half saw a combined three missed field goals. The NFL’s all-time most accurate kicker, Justin Tucker, missed two field goals under-50 yards in the first half. Bills and Ravens would be tied at three headed into the locker room.

A well-orchestrated drive to start the third quarter was capped off by a Josh Allen to Steffon Diggs touchdown to give Buffalo a 10-3 lead. It looked as though the Ravens would tie things up on the ensuing Baltimore drive.

Headed into this AFC Divisional matchup, Jackson had never thrown an interception in the red zone and had 49 touchdowns inside the 20 yard line. With less than a minute left in the third quarter, that all changed.

Jackson appeared to never see Taron Johnson who cleanly picked off the ball and ran it back 101 yards for a pick-six. That return is tied for the longest interception return in NFL postseason history.

The very next drive for the Ravens, disaster struck. Five seconds to play in the third, ball on the Ravens 25-yard-line.  Ravens Center Patrick Mekari snapped the ball over Jackson’s head. The QB recovered the ball at the 8-yard-line and tossed it towards the sideline falling into the endzone. Jackson’s head hit the turf and he would take minutes to get up as the officials cited the QB for intentional grounding.

Jackson would head to the locker room under his own power, but would later be declared out and in concussion protocol. He would remain in the locker room for the rest of the game due to procedure.

The Bills will face the winner of Chiefs/Browns. The second AFC Divisional kicks off Sunday at 3:05.