This weekend brought us football fans some great divisional round games copped off by Sunday night’s classic between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. The game was decided on a dropped two-point conversion by Ravens tight end Mark Andrew propelling the Bills to a 27-25 win and a trip to Arrowhead Stadium to face the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
Lost in the final result was the drive that Ravens superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson put together to give them a shot at tying the game. Jackson nearly had his biggest playoff moment only to have Andrews drop a sure-fire two-point conversion that would’ve likely sent the game to overtime with all the momentum on the Ravens side. But, just like last year’s AFC Championship home loss to the Chiefs, it wasn’t meant to be.
Jackson Takes Accountability
While Jackson did play well enough in the loss passing for 254 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Jackson also had an ugly fumble on a play where he should’ve just given up after a bad snap. But, even with that he was still good enough in the clutch to give his team a shot, but it just didn’t happen. Following the loss folks were quick to blame Jackson when in essence it was more about his receivers dropping the football four times on Sunday than him making mistakes.
But, in true leadership form Jackson took full accountability for the loss. In postgame presser an animated and irritated Jackson said, “Turnovers. We can’t have that sh*t. … Hold onto the f**king ball. I’m sorry for my language. This sh*t is annoying. I’m tired of this sh*t.”
Yes, Jackson’s two turnovers were huge, with one leading directly to a Josh Allen short touchdown run following a long fumble return by edge rusher Von Miller. But the biggest mistakes were committed by the aforementioned Andrews who not only dropped the tying two-point conversion but also fumbled after making a catch in the third quarter. The fumble stymied momentum and prevented the Ravens from taking the lead, instead leading to three points for the Bills.
Jackson Should Win MVP, But That’s Not Enough Anymore
It’s highly plausible that in a few weeks Jackson will win his third MVP award and second in a row. But, because of all of his success, he’s no longer judged on his regular season accolades. Jackson is like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow, who make the league’s four best quarterbacks and are all held to a higher standard.
It’s all about playoff success and Super Bowl wins, and as of now only Mahomes has Super Sunday wins (3) and four appearances. Burrow is the only other one of the group to play in a Super Bowl losing in Super Bowl 56 to the Rams.
As both Jackson and Allen search for that elusive AFC crown as the conference’s representative in the league’s biggest game and event of the season. Allen, who’ll have that opportunity if he can win in Kansas City next Sunday, had nothing but great things to say about Jackson.
“I got so much respect and love for [Lamar Jackson] … one of the greatest to ever step on the football field,” Allen said.
And you can bet Jackson has the same amount of respect for Allen.