In a match-up of two undefeated teams with MVP candidates on Sunday, Lamar Jackson showed why, if Patrick Mahomes is the measuring stick, he is not too far behind.
Lamar Jackson has started nine regular-season games in his career. And if it weren’t for the Kansas City Chiefs, one could argue that Jackson would still be undefeated as a starter.
The Chiefs only dropped one game in Arrowhead Stadium last season (by one point), and two the season before, giving them one of the NFL’s best home winning percentages. You don’t go into Arrowhead Stadium and come out with a victory often. Two of the last three quarterbacks to do so, Ben Roethlisberger and Phillip Rivers, are shoo-in Hall of Famers.
Jackson had the Chiefs on the ropes last year in Arrowhead, propelling his Baltimore Ravens to a touchdown lead with only 54 seconds remaining. It took a miracle play by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on fourth and long, and then a field goal in overtime for Kansas City to escape with a win.
The offseason was filled with criticism of Jackson. Becoming the youngest quarterback to ever lead his team to the playoffs, a 6-1 regular-season record, and a number of single-game rushing records were not enough to prevent the national media from viewing Jackson through a critical lens.
Skepticism abounded that Jackson couldn’t throw the ball accurately enough to be an NFL quarterback, and his workload carrying the ball would ultimately get him hurt.
It took one game in 2019 for Jackson to prove everyone wrong. In the Ravens’ season opener, Jackson became the youngest player ever to record a perfect quarterback rating, passing for five touchdowns and 341 yards before sitting the fourth quarter in a 59-10 trouncing of the Dolphins. He followed that up in week two by becoming the first player ever to throw for 250 yards and rush for 120 in the same game.
All of a sudden Sunday’s revisiting of the wild finish in 2018 became the most talked-about game of the week. Mahomes, last year’s NFL MVP, is the odds-on favorite to repeat, while Jackson was out to prove that he could finish off a game against one of the best teams in the league.
Though Mahomes and the Chiefs got out to an impressive 23-6 lead to start the game, it was Jackson and the Ravens who came roaring back to put the game in question with two impressive scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
Though the Ravens ultimately fell one drive short, Jackson again waled away receiving nothing but high praise from an opposing defense that couldn’t believe the play from the opposing quarterback.
From Yahoo Sports’ Terez Paylor, apparently the vaunted Kansas City defense was glad they didn’t have to go back on the field one more time thanks to a late Chiefs game-sealing first down.
"“Y’all talking about Lamar,” asked defensive linebacker Chris Jones, who had just ambled over to the locker next to Okafor’s. “Aw, man. He sauced me up a couple times.”“Sauce ain’t the word,” Okafor replied with a laugh. “Blender.”"
Late in the game, when the Ravens needed a score, Jackson delivered on multiple occasions, making jaw-dropping throws in some instances, while stopping and cutting with no regard for human life en route to the endzone late in the fourth quarter.
Lamar Jackson is not from this planet pic.twitter.com/whS1jEIHEB
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 22, 2019
"“No. 8, he has it,” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu told Yahoo Sports, particularly referencing the play where he completely whiffed on a tackle attempt. “I think (Mahomes) has it. (Deshaun Watason) from the Texans, I think he has it. And obviously (Patriots QB, Tom) Brady. Guys that you don’t look on the scoreboard — they’re always in it.”"
Jackson may walk away with a sour taste in his mouth and a chip on his shoulder, but he also walks away from this game like he did so many times in 2018- with the complete respect and admiration from his teammates as well as opposing players.
The national media-driven narrative that Jackson won’t be able to sustain success in the NFL persists, but one thing remains: no team wants to have to defend Lamar Jackson for four quarters. That speaks louder than anything else, and bodes well for a guy that could be the future of the nex wave of NFL quarterbacks.