ExtremeRavens Posted Wednesday at 09:30 PM Posted Wednesday at 09:30 PM Derrick Henry had just fumbled, injecting a shot of life into the Bills and their crowd with just over three minutes remaining Sunday night in Orchard Park, New York. Meanwhile, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson needed a dose of pickle juice. Jackson, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player who last season became the first player to pass for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 900, was cramping in both of his calves. According to a study in the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine, ingesting small amounts of pickle juices relieves cramps within 35 seconds. Though findings are mixed, it does so by sending a neurological signal to the muscle and quickly influencing nerve pathways, rather than having to wait for the electrolytes or sodium to be absorbed into the blood. Jackson’s calf cramps came at a critical moment. After the Bills scored four plays later to pull within two points of a Ravens team that was desperately clinging to the lead, Baltimore was soon faced with a decision: Whether to punt or go for it on fourth-and-3 from its own 38-yard line with 1:33 remaining. The Ravens punted, of course, and 93 seconds later, Matt Prater’s 32-yard field goal sailed through the uprights to complete the improbable and unbelievable comeback, 41-40. In the aftermath, many questioned whether the Ravens should have gone for it. “If I weren’t cramping, we definitely would’ve have gone for it, I believe,” Jackson said Wednesday. It strangely wasn’t the first time that the quarterback has been in that situation. In a December 2020 home win over the Browns, Jackson left the sideline late in the third quarter and headed to the locker room to deal with cramps to first his forearm and then his legs. He eventually returned to the field with two minutes to play in the game and threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Jackson later led the game-winning drive that ended with a 55-yard field goal from Justin Tucker and soon the Willis Reid comparisons started to pour in. This time, he never got the chance. After the Ravens punted, Bills quarterback Josh Allen drove Buffalo 66 yards in nine plays to set up the winning kick as time expired. It also wasn’t the only odd circumstance surrounding Jackson that night. After connecting with DeAndre Hopkins on a 29-yard touchdown pass late in the third, the quarterback shoved a Bills fan after being hit on the helmet by the fan amid the scoring celebration. The fan first first hit Hopkins in the head then pushed Jackson’s helmet. Jackson responded by pushing the fan back into the crowd with both hands. “I [saw] him slap D-Hop, which I wasn’t feeling. Then he slapped me. And he was talking [smack]. So I forgot where I was in that moment,” Jackson said afterward. The fan was ejected from the game and has since been indefinitely banned from all NFL stadiums. On Wednesday, coach John Harbaugh said that general manager Eric DeCosta and team president Sashi Brown spoke with the league about the incident and also talked to Jackson. No discipline for Jackson is expected. “I’m very confident he understands what he needs to understand,” Harbaugh said. Jackson, who said that he hadn’t heard directly from the league, concurred. “It just happened,” he said. “My apologies to whoever that was. Just chill next time. You could talk trash, but keep your hands to yourself.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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