Lamar Jackson’s moment of truth has arrived. The Ravens QB enters Saturday’s divisional round game vs. the Texans with a shabby 1-3 playoff record, but his team is still the odds-on favorite to bring home a Lombardi Trophy.
It would be a career-defining moment for a quarterback who was doubted from the draft night door, told by some so-called football experts that he would be better suited as a running back.
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ESPN analytics gives the Ravens an 84 percent chance to defeat rookie C.J. Stroud and the surprising Houston Texans.
It’s all laid out for Lamar, who bet on himself this offseason, despite criticisms from the media and pressure from fans and the Ravens front office to get a deal done. Jackson never wavered with his belief about what he was worth to the franchise, and he was willing to sit out until a deal was done.
Early in the season, he had everybody panicking and lashing out because he wouldn’t be sold short, even threatening the team to trade him at one point. Contract negotiations seemed contentious at times, but in a span of a month LJ8 went from wanting out of Baltimore to signing the largest deal in Ravens history.
Lamar Jackson Becomes Highet-Paid NFL Player
After 27 months of negotiations, Jackson reached a five-year deal worth $260 million, making the dual-threat QB the highest-paid player in the league at $52 million per year. It included $185 million in guaranteed money.
Once Jackson got his bag, he proved to everyone what he already knew and put together another MVP-caliber season with marked improvement in throwing accuracy, trust in his receivers and leadership.
The results of that deal produced an NFL-best 13-4 record for the Ravens and an “I told ya so” swag from Jackson.
Super Bowl or Bust For LJ8
With all LJ8 has accomplished to this point, the regular-season success will mean much less if he doesn’t at least get the Ravens to the Super Bowl. The opinion in a growing number of football circles is that if he doesn’t win the Super Bowl, he won’t get his props as an elite NFL quarterback.
“The only thing that matters is what Lamar Jackson does in the postseason,” said former NFL receiver James Jones, a panelist on FS1’s “Speak Live. “That’s where he’s put himself. You are about to be a two-time MVP. The only thing that matters is playoffs and Super Bowls … for your legacy.”
“You have the best team in football. He [Jackson] can’t go one and done.”
Lamar is undoubtedly an elite talent and one of the all-time most lethal weapons in NFL history, but an A-1 quarterback with a balanced team that’s championship-ready has to finish the job to shut down any possible conversations about their ability to close the deal.
So, this is Jackson’s moment. If he was ever going to be one of the most efficient passers in the NFL, now is the time to start. All of the jukes and jumps and spin moves, and ankle-breaking motion has to also result in red zone points.
He will have to play strategically and overcome the toughest of defenses to achieve his ultimate goal.
Lamar Jackson Hasn’t Performed In Playoffs
With all of the success Jackson has had in the regular season, his playoff record is one area where critics point to as a black eye on his magnificence. Jackson is 1-3 in his playoff career and the past two seasons he wasn’t even healthy enough to play in the postseason, so this run is easily the most significant of his six-year career.
When Jackson goes head-up with the Texans, it will be his first playoff game in 1,099 days. It’s been over three years since we last saw Jackson in the playoffs, when the Ravens lost 17-3 in Buffalo in the divisional round.
He’s had plenty of time to think about it and field questions from those who continuously look for any flaw in his armor. Fortunately, Jackson is having a career year, and his confidence is on 100. He’s been eager to address all doubters.
Everybody sees it, including Texans coach DeMeco Ryans
“They’ve grown throughout the season as an offense,” Ryans said. “I feel like they’re much more efficient. Lamar [Jackson] is playing exceptional football, MVP-caliber football. He’s done a really good job, not only running the ball or making off-schedule plays but getting the ball to his playmakers.”
The Ravens are averaging just 13.0 points per game in Jackson’s playoff career. That’s the second-lowest mark by any QB with at least four playoff starts in the past 30 seasons.
Jackson also ranks dead last in passer rating (49.6) and EPA per play (-0.37) in the first three quarters of playoff games since 2000, according to CBS analytics. That’s among 46 QBs with at least four starts.
Defenses have also played Jackson differently in the postseason, blitzing him less and playing more zone coverage to force him into a passing mode, which has hurt his playoff efficiency.
All that has got to change, and Lamar has to be the same quarterback in the playoffs as the regular season. That’s what the Ravens reluctantly paid him for. Now he has to complete his end of the deal, and laying an egg at any stage in these playoffs is just not acceptable and would be a huge L for Jackson’s legacy.
