ExtremeRavens Posted November 5 Posted November 5 Amid all the shiny numbers that Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson put up in Sunday’s blowout win over the Denver Broncos, one stood out for what he didn’t do. Jackson had just three carries for 4 yards. Only one of them came on a designed run. It was his second-lowest rushing total in 92 combined regular-season and playoff starts. He also came into the game having only practiced once during the week because of soreness in his back and legs and perhaps wasn’t looking to venture into harm’s way, especially after a physical loss to the Cleveland Browns the week before. But Jackson explained Monday evening that it was even simpler than that. “I just didn’t feel like I had to [run],” he said following the Ravens’ walk-through practice three days before a critical Thursday night showdown against the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. “Things were working in our favor.” Jackson finished 16 of 19 passing for 280 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, adding up to a perfect 158.3 passer rating and a 41-10 rout. It was another dominant performance by the reigning and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player that has him poised to win the award for a third time. It was also a microcosm of his season through the first nine games. Jackson is first in the NFL in passer rating (120.7), tied for second in passing touchdowns (20), tied for first in touchdown to interception ratio (10 to 1), second in passing yards (2,379), first in passing yards per attempt (9.3), first in touchdown rate (7.8%) and tops in first downs per pass attempt (44.7%). He also leads the league in expected points added per drop-back (0.35), per pass attempt (0.40) and per play (0.31) as well as pass completions longer than 15 yards. Consequently, Baltimore has the second-best EPA (expected points added) per game over the first nine games of a season since 2019, when Jackson took over as a starter, behind only the 2022 Kansas City Chiefs, who went on to win the Super Bowl. And, of course, Jackson is first in rushing yards (505) among quarterbacks, despite easily his lowest total of the season to date on Sunday. “Guys were getting open,” he said. “Guys were catching the ball. Line was protecting. Running backs were catching the ball; tight ends were. Everything was just going our way, and I didn’t really have to run.” Jackson is on pace for a career-high 4,494 passing yards. As a runner, he’s on pace for 954. If the latter sees an uptick, he could become the first player to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season. Lamar Jackson is having the best passing season of his career. (Staff) One big reason is big plays. For example, eight of Jackson’s 19 passes against the Broncos gained more than 15 yards. “Sometimes it’s a result of the play design,” coach John Harbaugh said. “Sometimes it’s Lamar extending the play and making stuff happen.” It’s unquestionably helped that this is the most potent collection of talent he’s ever had around him, from the NFL’s leading rusher Derrick Henry to wide receiver Zay Flowers, whose 654 yards are the fifth-most in the league, to tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely to one of the league’s top separators in receiver Rashod Bateman to speedy third-down back Justice Hill. “The game slowing down and me just me watching film [and] seeing a lot of blitzes and seeing different schemes of how a team [is] holding blitzes and trying to disguise stuff from me,” Jackson said. “With me just studying the bad plays as well [and] just studying and memorizing everything what I’m seeing [is] helping the process of the game for me. Everything’s just slowing down.” And with it, the Ravens are speeding by opponents, averaging the second-most points per game (31.4). They’ve also won six of their past seven. Now comes a rematch with the Bengals. When the two teams met in Cincinnati last month, Jackson threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns and the Ravens won a wild shootout in overtime, 41-38. They’ll likely need another similar performance — to the one he had then or the one he had this past Sunday. “He’s quarterbacking better than anybody in the league,” Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said. “MVP, for sure.” Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Tim Schwartz at timschwartz@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/timschwartz13. Week 10 Bengals at Ravens Thursday, 8:15 p.m. TV/Stream: ABC, Prime Video Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM Line: Ravens by 6 1/2 View the full article Quote
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