Dalvin Cook reveals Lamar Jackson's stern halftime message that inspired Ravens' win vs. Texans

There was a feeling of uneasiness at M&T Bank Stadium during halftime of the Baltimore Ravens’ AFC divisional round matchup against the Houston Texans. The Ravens and the Texans entered halftime knotted up at a 10-10 score. Texans wideout Steven Sims stunned the Ravens with a 67-yard punt return touchdown during the second quarter, while […]

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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball against Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre (5) and linebacker Christian Harris (48) during the first quarter of a 2024 AFC divisional round game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

There was a feeling of uneasiness at M&T Bank Stadium during halftime of the Baltimore Ravens’ AFC divisional round matchup against the Houston Texans.

The Ravens and the Texans entered halftime knotted up at a 10-10 score. Texans wideout Steven Sims stunned the Ravens with a 67-yard punt return touchdown during the second quarter, while Houston managed to blitz Lamar Jackson on 13 out of his 18 total dropbacks in the first half.

Dalvin Cook revealed after the Ravens’ 34-10 win over the Texans that Jackson was the lone player who addressed the team at halftime, and the sixth-year passer had a simple message for the squad.

"There was nothing magical," Cook said. "Nobody came in and said anything except [Lamar Jackson]. He just came in here and said, ‘Everybody get their energy right.’ And that’s it.

"We started to execute. The coaches didn’t come in here and say anything special. It was just [Lamar Jackson], and he said, ‘Let’s go, ‘O.'"

On Jackson’s part, he noted during his postgame press conference that there was "A lot of cursing at halftime."

Ravens' second-half surge 

Baltimore responded to adversity in the second half, as the Jackson-led Ravens offense orchestrated four scoring drives, with three of them coming in the fourth quarter. Baltimore's No. 1 ranked defense did not allow a single scoring drive to the Texans in the second half.

Next up for the Ravens will be their first appearance in the AFC title game in 11 years.