The Baltimore Ravens are 10-2 and clearly the NFL’s best team thanks to a historic season from Lamar Jackson.
Entering the season, there were plenty of people who doubted whether or not Lamar Jackson could be a legitimate NFL quarterback. The lasting image of Jackson came in the 2019 playoffs, when he couldn’t do a thing against a Los Angeles Chargers’ defense that loaded up with smaller, faster players to counteract his running game.
Fast forward an offseason and 12 weeks of football, and Jackson has now become the NFL’s most dynamic weapon. Jackson is a threat with both his arm and legs, which he put to use this afternoon in Baltimore’s 20-17 win over the previously 10-1 San Francisco 49ers.
The Ravens committed to running the football today, and Jackson was front and center as part of that effort, carrying the ball 16 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. On the season, Jackson has 876 yards rushing and six touchdowns while averaging a ridiculous 7.1 yards per carry.
The passing attack is the biggest difference in Jackson’s game, as he has been much more efficient with the football this season. Jackson completed 14-of-23 passes for just 105 yards today against a stout San Francisco secondary, but he did throw a touchdown pass and didn’t turn the football over.
The Ravens’ passing attack has been much more dynamic with Jackson now than it was at the end of 2018, when he was completing just 58.3 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and three interceptions. In 12 games this year, Jackson is completing 66.9 percent of his attempts for 24 touchdowns against just five picks, a staggering improvement from year-to-year.
After many different attempts at trying to define who the new age quarterback would be, it appears that Jackson is the prototype the league has been trying to identify for years. Jackson is not only an incredibly efficient passer but a game-breaking rusher, giving the Ravens a weapon that few in the NFL are equipped to stop.
We are witnessing truly historic stuff from Jackson, who is revolutionizing the quarterback position and putting the Ravens on his back as they march towards a potential showdown with the Patriots in the playoffs. Round 1 of that series went to Jackson and the Ravens, and with the way he is playing it would not surprise anyone if the rematch went Baltimore’s way as well.