Grasping for a way to describe what it’s like to watch Derrick Henry, Lamar Jackson didn’t reference a bruising, brilliant back of yore such as Earl Campbell or Eric Dickerson. He didn’t reach for a nickname, either, like a “Refrigerator,” a “Bus” or a “Train.” That would’ve been too easy.

Instead, he went fictional, and he went cartoon. Watching Henry, Jackson said, is akin to seeing Lightning McQueen, the race car protagonist of the 2006 animated comedy film “Cars.”

That might be how the Steelers felt Saturday night. Just as a car races around a track, again and again, so did the Ravens’ rushing attack in the first half. For 13 straight plays, Baltimore ran the ball on repeat en route to an 85-yard drive capped by a Henry touchdown. Playing without injured receiver Zay Flowers, Baltimore was more than up for the task. The Ravens had 299 rushing yards, Henry had 186 yards himself and two scores, and the Ravens bullied the Steelers to the tune of a 28-14 win.

A 44-yard Henry run in the third quarter all but sealed the win, dooming the Steelers to face the offseason’s winter while their rivals advance to the AFC’s divisional round. The Ravens will host the Houston Texans or visit the Buffalo Bills, depending on the outcome of Sunday’s Denver Broncos at Bills game.

“You know when Lightning McQueen is just flying and flashing past?” Jackson said, illustrating the speed with his hands. “That’s how Derrick looked when he was running past all those guys. It looked like a movie.”

On a freezing Saturday night, a purple parade of Ravens fans filed into M&T Bank Stadium and it was a Henry run that first sent them into a frenzy. In a play the Ravens drew up only this week, Henry took a direct snap and ran 33 yards, sending the die-hards across the stadium bobbing up and down, forming a massive purple wave.

Three plays later, the Ravens scored to take a 7-0 lead and then literally ran ahead, never trailing again.

Ravens fans’ most recent postseason memories aren’t fond ones. Baltimore’s running backs carried just six times in the AFC championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last year, and one of the game’s lasting images was Jackson throwing an interception on a jump ball into the end zone.

Saturday was, whether premeditated or not, a return to smashmouth, traditional football.

“My dad’s proud,” coach John Harbaugh said after the game. “Jack Harbaugh’s proud right now. He likes to pound the rock, and that’s what we did.”

The Ravens rushed the ball 24 times (though not all were designed runs) over their first 32 plays, which wasn’t necessarily the game plan, Harbaugh said, but, boy, did it work. Baltimore physically punished the Steelers for much of the game.

Jackson racked up 81 yards on the ground and passed for 175 yards and two scores. As he entered the media room postgame, he even jogged up to the dais.

“The offensive line got great penetration, kept blocking those guys,” Jackson said.

That paved the way for a rare offensive day, even for a team as historically rooted in rushing as the Ravens. The team’s 299 yards were the franchise’s most in a playoff game and the most in an NFL postseason game since 2013. Henry’s 186 yards were more than anyone has run for in the playoffs since 2020, and his 157 yards after contact were the third most in the league this season.

The Ravens rushed early, and they rushed often. On their first touchdown drive, Jackson ran five straight times. The Ravens’ third drive was the 13-straight-runs possession, which was the first time since 2006 that a team mounted a touchdown drive of at least 13 plays without passing the ball once.

On that overpowering, efficient possession, Jackson and Henry combined for 12 carries (tight end Mark Andrews also had a sneak).

“I know we were tired, so I sure hope they were tired, too. That’s kind of like a lineman’s dream, just continue to wear on them,” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “We have the best job in the world: blocking for Lamar and Derrick Henry.”

When, in the third quarter, the Steelers cut into the Ravens’ lead for the first time, it was Henry again who extended Baltimore’s cushion. Running right up the middle, he was surrounded by six Steelers, but — as if he had a force field around him — sped past them for a 44-yard score.

Whenever tight end Isaiah Likely sees Henry break into open space as he did then, he puts his arms straight up to symbolize a score.

“I’m assuming it’s a touchdown,” Likely said.

Banner reporter Jonas Shaffer contributed to this article.