Ravens Insider: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson faces stern test of his NFC mastery vs. Eagles

ExtremeRavens · November 29

Among the many curious and remarkable statistics that tell the story of Lamar Jackson’s seven NFL seasons, this one stands out.

He has started 24 games against NFC opponents and lost exactly once.

It began in December of his rookie season, when he threw for 125 yards and ran for 75 in a 26-16 triumph over the Atlanta Falcons. The only blemish occurred Oct. 16, 2022, when Jackson completed just 17 of 32 and threw an interception in a 24-20 road loss to the New York Giants.

But those 23 wins include some of the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player’s finest moments: five touchdown passes and 95 yards on the ground in a 2019 “Monday Night Football” blowout of the Los Angeles Rams, the miraculous throw to set up Justin Tucker’s record 66-yard game-winner in Detroit in 2021, 357 yards passing and three touchdowns in last year’s 38-6 demolition of the Lions, 252 yards and two touchdown passes in a Christmas Day beatdown of the Super Bowl-bound San Francisco 49ers.

Jackson’s mastery of the NFC will face a stern test Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium when the Ravens host the Philadelphia Eagles, winners of seven straight games and powered by the league’s top defense, which hasn’t allowed even 300 yards (the Ravens average 426.7) in a game since the last weekend of September.

Not since that Yuletide showdown with the 49ers almost a year ago has Jackson faced such a threat from the less familiar conference. The Ravens have averaged 33 points in dispatching three NFC foes this season.

Jackson has been asked plenty about his phenomenal record against the other conference — the best for any quarterback since the AFC and NFC were created in 1970 — and generally offers a similar explanation. The statistical oddity, seemingly a tribute to the unique planning challenges he presents, doesn’t mean a lot to him.

“Probably because we’re not as familiar with each other,” he said Wednesday. “I’m just going to give you that because I’ve really got something else on my mind.”

Opponents have talked about it over the years, the impossibility of simulating Jackson’s physics-defying escapes from the pocket as he keeps plays alive for precious extra seconds.

“He’s unlike anybody else,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told Philadelphia reporters. “The only other player that’s been like him in the last 50 years is Michael Vick. … I mean, the pure definition of a great quarterback is there’s no one way to play him. Because if there was, everybody would do it.”

The Ravens have heard it all and see little use in celebrating past successes against NFC powers.

Coach John Harbaugh skipped right past commenting on his quarterback’s inter-conference near-perfection to extol the Eagles’ virtues.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike during team practice. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) — “It’s always exciting to play in big games. This is another big game for us,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh, right, said. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)

“I think we’ve got a really tough game against a really good team on Sunday,” he said. “These guys are a well-rounded football team. All three phases are really as good as anybody in the league. They’re really good up front on both sides of the trenches. That’s a huge challenge for us. Not just that; they can run the ball, of course. The quarterback can run it. The back can run it. They push it down the field. They run [run-pass options].”

Harbaugh noted that his team has already played several high-profile games this year, whether in the season opener against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, on “Sunday Night Football” against the Buffalo Bills or Monday against his brother’s Los Angeles Chargers.

“It’s always exciting to play in big games. This is another big game for us,” he said. “Some people think they might be the best team in the league, and that’s the way they’re playing.”

The Eagles, with the third-easiest schedule to date by DVOA, have not been tested in as many glitzy matchups, though they did open the season by beating the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.

No matter how well they’re playing, they respect Jackson and the many playmakers in the league’s top offense.

Asked if he’s looking forward to the test, Fangio joked, “I’d rather play Swarthmore.” (The academically rigorous Pennsylvania college has not had a football team since 2000.)

Jackson said that if there’s a secret to going against the best, it’s “just be who you are. Be true to yourself. Don’t put too much on your mind about the opponent.”

He shouted out “amazing” defensive tackle Jalen Carter when asked about the perils presented by Philadelphia’s front. He sprinkled a bit of hype on the running back matchup, with Derrick Henry on his side and Saquon Barkley on the other.

Barkley blew Jackson’s young mind back when they were both prospects in a high school all-star game and Barkley vaulted over a defender’s head.

On Henry, he said he envisioned the success they’re having — second in scoring, second in rushing, first in total yards and yards per play — as soon as the Ravens signed the great running back in the offseason.

“I knew what it was going to be,” he said. “That’s why I was excited. Any given week, there’s going to be something special, especially with that guy in the backfield. It just makes my job a lot easier. I can’t give him enough credit. I really can’t.”

If there’s a chance for the Ravens to seize a leg up Sunday, it might come early. The Eagles failed to score in the first quarter until their eighth game of the season.

Jackson expressed concern over his offense’s sluggish starts after Monday’s win against the Chargers in which the Ravens derailed their first two drives with 15-yard penalties.

“Just stay on schedule,” he said when asked what must change. “Instead of having to get back on track.”

The Ravens have overcome double-digit deficits four times this season, including in their most recent victory over an NFC opponent. They fell behind 10-0 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before running off 34 straight points.

Jackson knows a similar mountain would be more difficult to scale against Philadelphia’s “well-balanced” defense as he tries to move his record against the NFC to 24-1.

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