Although Lamar Jackson didn’t light up the stat sheet as a passer, he made plenty of plays with his legs to lead the Baltimore Ravens to an impressive Week 7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
An MVP candidate at quarterback from the AFC met an MVP candidate at quarterback from the NFC on Sunday afternoon when Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens took on Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. While Wilson and the Seahawks came into the game as the favorites to win the MVP and the game, respectively, the Ravens took care of business with a 30-13 win.
Heading into the second half, the Ravens were tied 13-13 against a Seahawks team known for fourth-quarter comebacks behind Wilson. But it was Jackson who looked like the MVP frontrunner on this Sunday, leading the Ravens to two scoring drives before Marlon Humphrey’s scoop-and-score sealed the deal for Baltimore.
Jackson only completed nine of 20 passes for a 45 percent completion rate, thus putting his quarterback rating below 70.0. But those statistics do not tell the story of Jackson’s day. He ended up averaging 7.2 yards per pass attempt without any interceptions, avoiding critical mistakes against a Seahawks defense that historically thrives off of turnovers.
The Louisville product did his best to find the few playmakers on his offense, but ultimately he was the one who, once again, made all the plays for the Ravens offense.
With 111 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries, Jackson was unstoppable on the ground. He put several Seahawks defenders on a poster, as trying to stop the Ravens quarterback was an unfair task. Jackson put the Ravens on his back by using his legs, shredding a Seahawks team that was 5-1 coming into this game.
This victory gives the Ravens a 5-2 record and puts them back in the discussion as one of the best teams in the AFC behind the undefeated, rival New England Patriots. Jackson is mainly responsible for the Ravens’ success this season, and that was certainly the case against Seattle.
Mark Ingram could get little going on the ground himself and no receiver could emerge as a star in this game, so Jackson had to pick up the slack all on his own. The advantage the Ravens have with Jackson at quarterback is hard to overstate, and it’s fair to question if the Ravens would have pulled away from the Seahawks in the second half without Jackson’s individual brilliance.
The Ravens get a bye week before facing the Patriots to start November, and if they are to score a season-defining victory, it’ll be because of No. 8. Jackson is a special player, and he gave Ravens fans some truly memorable moments in this huge Week 7 win.