While fresh-faced quarterbacks have often struggled in postseason play, it hasn't exactly been a case of the young and the feckless. Starting quarterbacks age 23 and under are 12-15 in playoff games in the NFL's modern era, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com logs. (Nathan Peterman and Jarious Jackson were both 23 when they played, but not as starters.)

The Baltimore Ravens play the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium.

There is no correlation between getting marginally older and playing better, either. While Jackson will be the first 21-year-old to start a playoff game, the four quarterbacks who did so at age 22 went a combined 3-4.

Michael Vick, Jackson's childhood idol, was a record 22 years and 192 days young when he went 13-for-25 for 117 yards and a touchdown and added 10 carries for 64 yards in the Atlanta Falcons' 27-7 win over the Green Bay Packers in January 2003. The next week, in an NFC divisional-round matchup, Vick passed for 274 yards but threw two interceptions and was held to 30 rushing yards in a 20-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.