ExtremeRavens Posted 13 hours ago Posted 13 hours ago Some critics will say that Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is experiencing a series of injuries. Others will say that his lack of success in the past three games has been a result of playing eight years and the hits that pile up with becoming the top dual-threat quarterback in the history of the NFL. Regardless, this isn’t the same Jackson we’ve seen in the previous seven seasons when he won two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards. Oh, no, he ain’t even close. Jackson, 28, struggled in a third straight game Sunday as the Ravens beat the hapless and woeful New York Jets, 23-10, before an announced crowd of 70,029 at M&T Bank Stadium. Jackson, who missed three games earlier this season with a strained hamstring, completed only 13 of 23 passes for 153 yards and finished with a passer rating of 76.9. That will suffice playing teams such as the Jets, New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, but that isn’t the magic formula for success when playing contending teams such as Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Buffalo’s Josh Allen or even the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert when he is hot. Jackson needs to step up his game and deliver more high-octane plays. The injuries are real, but Jackson didn’t use them as an excuse Sunday after the game. You expected as much. And his fight with Father Time might be more on par because that’s a legitimate concern. One day you just wake up, and you can’t make all the necessary moves anymore. We’ve already heard the excuses about offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s poor play calling and lack of creativity, but one day it would be good if Jackson just stepped up to the podium, and said, “Hey, I just wasn’t good enough today, even though we won.” It happens. On Sunday, he finished with a passer rating of 76.9, his lowest since last week when he had a rating of 47.6 against Cleveland as he completed only 14 of 25 passes for 193 yards and was sacked five times. Before that, it had been 54 games since Jackson had a rating in the 40s. Even more importantly, Jackson seems to have lost his touch, which he had in the season opener in a loss to Buffalo. On Sunday, the Ravens were 2-for-11 on third-down attempts, and Jackson missed tight end Isaiah Likely in the flat early in the game. He threw short and was way off the mark to tight end Mark Andrews later in the first half, going across the middle. But his ugliest pass was the one to receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was wide open in the left corner of the end zone early in the fourth quarter. It would have put the Ravens ahead, 24-10. That would have made the Ravens’ lead insurmountable, especially the way the Jets were playing, and especially after the horrendous decision-making by coach Aaron Glenn near the midway point of the third quarter. In the previous two seasons, that was always the knock on Jackson — that he couldn’t put enough air on the deep pass. Well, it happened again Sunday. The deep ball is gone from the Ravens’ offense. Before Sunday, they were averaging only 11.2 yards per catch. The win against the Jets was significant because the Ravens have now won five straight and are tied for first place in the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are falling faster than old Humpty Dumpty. But this is the first time that Jackson has gone back-to-back weeks without a touchdown pass in a game since 2019. I understand the legs failing, but the arm is going as well, which is perplexing. Jackson rushed seven times Sunday for 11 yards and rushed only four times for 10 yards vs. Cleveland. In 2025, there have been only 3.4 designed runs per game by Jackson compared with 8.1 in 2018 and a career high of 9.1 in 2019. Throughout his career, Jackson has tried to prove that he isn’t just a running quarterback, but a top-notch passer as well. He had done that the past two seasons. Initially, he could only throw to his right, but now he can roll left as well. He has shown great touch on the long ball and can throw from either side of the field. But in 2025, he looks slow, at times very indecisive. Defensive linemen are running him down, which never happened in the past. On Sunday, he had opportunities to run but couldn’t outrun linebackers such as Jamien Sherwood around the corner or off the perimeter. In fact, Jets backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor looked faster than Jackson when he scrambled, and Taylor is 36. It’s hard to imagine what is going through Jackson’s mind at this time. It’s like when the Ravens were 1-5. It’s like staring into the abyss. But at this point, he is struggling. He wasn’t sharp against Minnesota three games ago and played poorly against the Browns last week. He followed that up with a less-than-average performance against the Jets on Sunday. Clearly, he is off his game. Jackson set the standard extremely high in Baltimore, having passed for more than 20,000 career yards and 181 touchdowns. No quarterback has proven that he is the total package as both a runner and a quarterback like Jackson. Maybe contract negotiations have caused Jackson problems, or maybe it’s this season’s injuries or the hits he has taken over an eight-year career. But he has been off his game in the past three contests, and no one knows why. Why? Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.