With a 1-3 postseason record going into the game on Saturday, Jackson raised a lot of concerns about his performance in the big game. He has now led the Ravens to the AFC title game, where they will face a different outstanding quarterback.
The AFC divisional matchup on Saturday turned out to be the one Baltimore had been waiting for since 2018, but the first half of the game felt more like one this city has seen far too often in the past. The top-seeded Ravens engaged in a surprisingly close first-half struggle against a significant underdog. Lamar Jackson was surrounded and his supporting group was not doing much to assist him. And when the teams entered the locker room knotted 10–10 at halftime, the boisterous M&T Bank Stadium audience turned nervous.
Not alone were things tense in the stands. At the interval, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the locker room was “edgy,” though not in a negative sense. Jackson was the loudest voice in the room—and he wasn’t giving out encouraging words—despite typically being a more reserved leader, according to teammate Patrick Queen.
Following the game, Jackson declared, “I was mad.” “We had to play better; we had no other option.” Regretfully, that was the only information he would divulge from his foul-mouthed communication to the team. Jackson acknowledged, “It wouldn’t be appropriate if I said it right now.”
Jackson’s words appeared to have had an effect. Jackson finished with four touchdowns as the Ravens won 34-10, going on to score 24 straight points in the second half. The 27-year-old’s first-ever postseason victory at home helped him secure a spot in his first-ever AFC title game. Along with his 93.9 QBR and 100 yards of rushing, his performance should allay any doubts about his ability to succeed in the postseason.
These doubts were a result of Baltimore’s previous postseason disappointments, which included a shocking loss to Tennessee in the first game of 2020—a season in which Demetrius Jackson had been named MVP and the Ravens had the best record in the NFL. As defensive back Logan Ryan noted following the 28-12 victory, the Titans’ defensive strategy that evening was straightforward yet effective. “We intended to remove Jackson from the run game by giving him loaded boxes all night.” We had two options: either we would play zone defense or use a loaded box and man-to-man to force him to defeat us when he threw the ball outside mano-a-mano. We so had eight- or nine-man boxes the entire evening. It’s challenging to run the ball when you play Madden and run Engage Eight all day.
The Texans used a similar defensive strategy and made no effort to conceal their intentions four years later. Despite having one of the lowest blitz rates in the NFL going into the game, Houston expected to “heat up” Jackson with blitzes, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero early on Saturday.
A career high for the Ravens quarterback, 75% of Jackson’s dropbacks were blitzed by the Texans, who also put pressure on him on more over half of those plays. However, against this more experienced Jackson and the Ravens attack, the strategy that Tennessee employed to great effect in 2020 proved to be ineffectual. In response to the blitz, Jackson completed 13 of 18 throws for 120 yards and two scores. According to Harbaugh, the Ravens made some crucial adjustments in the second half, which led to a large portion of that output.
The Ravens coach remarked, “I think we just did a better job getting the ball out on time.” “Todd [Monken] may have called a different game. Lamar did a fantastic job pushing the ball downfield, but it wasn’t so much about holding the ball.
In order to counter Houston’s unexpectedly aggressive game plan, Harbaugh acknowledged Jackson’s insightful advice and indicated Baltimore needed to switch up its defense in the second half. Jackson’s quicker release of the ball was also beneficial. Working against the blitz, his average throw time decreased by one full second in the second half.
Fans in Baltimore will take note that Monken, the first-year offensive coordinator for the Ravens, was able to adapt to a blitz-heavy game plan, given that they witnessed Greg Roman, his predecessor, struggle in that area for four years. And his quarterback did not miss the fact that Monken relied on Jackson to determine what adjustments were required. “Your OC’s confidence in you to be out there and put our team in a great situation means a lot,” Jackson remarked. “That’s all I need, and we’ll proceed accordingly.”
Taking everything into account, this might have been Jackson’s best performance to yet. In the past, he had struggled in this same setting during the playoffs against a hostile opposition. And even though Jackson relied heavily on his legs the whole game to make up for a lackluster ground game before garbage time, he won this one with astute decision-making and deft passing. It was a masterful display of quarterbacking, the kind of play that his detractors would have assured you he is incapable of. And on the biggest platform of his career to yet, he succeeded.
Jackson will have an even larger platform the following Sunday when the Bills-Chiefs winner visits Baltimore, putting him up against either Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. They will have to make space for Jackson at the top if he puts a trip to the Super Bowl on top of another MVP trophy, even if those two are largely regarded as two of the best quarterbacks in the game. This year has become one of defiance, and it will go for at least another week. Lamar’s year began with a contract standoff and public rejection from a few teams following a trade request.
Following the victory, Queen remarked of his quarterback, “He’s not done yet.” That explains his extreme hunger. You can see it in his eyes because of this. It is evident in the way he is currently acting and speaking. He’s going to prove that he has a lot to prove.
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