Lamar Jackson’s uniqueness was not lost on the National Football League. In fact, it was the biggest story in the sport throughout the current campaign, what with the 32nd pick in the first round of the 2018 draft using his unparalleled skill set to lead the Ravens to a pacesetting 14-2 slate. With him under center, they were consensus Super Bowl favorites. Not for nothing did he break the record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Not for nothing did he finish the regular season with the highest number of touchdown passes. And not for nothing was he likely to claim the Most Valuable Player award.
Unfortunately, the NFL rarely subscribes to conventional wisdom. For all Jackson’s worth and worthiness of the spotlight, he still had to prove himself in the postseason. He still had to manufacture the victories just when they mattered most. And, over the weekend, he found himself falling prey to disappointment. Not only did the Ravens lose. They did so at M&T Bank Stadium, where an overflow crowd of 71,254 fully expected them to run roughshod over supposedly inferior competition. And they did so in a rout, their vaunted offense spearheaded by their dual threat hiccuping to an anemic 12 points even as their hitherto-solid defense coughed up 28 in turn.
To argue that Jackson had an off-day would be to grossly understate the obvious. True, he still managed to run for 143 yards on 20 carries, the best of the Ravens by far. On the other hand, any gains he had were dwarfed by his poor handling under pressure. He finished with more interceptions than touchdowns, fumbled and lost the ball, was sacked four times, and could do no better than post a 31.6 QB rating. Tellingly, he wound up being the third best passer when all was said and done. Not only had Titans counterpart Ryan Tannehill outplayed him; he fell behind running back Derrick Henry, whose trick-play jump pass led to an endzone score.
Granted, Jackson was not alone. If anything, the Ravens made him look worse. He had otherwise-perfect passed dropped, and alternatives flubbed, to the point where he, no doubt, felt he was his own best option. And he certainly called his number in the crunch; for instance, he ran in the first two of their four fourth-down attempts. The bad news, however, was that he couldn’t produce at the right moments as well; he got to be the first QB in NFL playoff history to go over 300 yards in passing and 100 yards in rushing, but was subjected to a shellacking all the same.
Perhaps the Ravens simply ran into a juggernaut at the wrong time. The Titans were certainly prepared — and, make no mistake, confident in giant-killer shoes, having made short work of the vaunted Patriots in the wild-card game the week before. And, needless to say, Jackson’s best years are still ahead of him. As he noted in the aftermath, “We’re a young team, especially on our offense,” Jackson said. “We’re going to get better. We only can get better. It’s only up from here.” He’s right, although he needs to learn fast. The world loves winners, and isn’t kind to would-be winners who fail, and fail again.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
