Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson turned in a masterful performance on Christmas night against the San Francisco 49ers.
He one-upped the 49ers’ Brock Purdy in the battle between two NFL MVP candidates and emerged as not only the favorite for the award, which he won in 2019, but as the best player on the football field that night.
When Lamar Jackson is healthy and playing at his peak, there is no comparison to him in the NFL. He typically doesn’t get grouped with the quarterbacks who produce greater passing numbers.
But when it comes down to the two skillsets that a quarterback can showcase, passing and running, Lamar Jackson is the NFL standard, and that is why the Baltimore Ravens have the NFL’s best record at 12-3 and the AFC’s No. 1 seed heading into their Week 17 clash against the No. 2 Miami Dolphins.
It’s not having the league’s No. 1 scoring defense. It’s not about having arguably the GOAT among kickers in Justin Tucker. It’s about having a stellar rookie receiver in Zay Flowers, or an All-Pro linebacking duo of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen, or a do-it-all defensive star like Kyle Hamilton.
No, it’s all about Lamar Jackson.
Ever since the Ravens drafted at No. 32 in the 2018 draft — meaning every other NFL team passed on him — Lamar Jackson has proved the doubters wrong about his assimilation to the NFL game and has more than demonstrated how his extraordinary abilities place him above and beyond as a talent.
Yet Lamar Jackson, for all his on-field wizardry and next-level athleticism, has one thing still to prove. And for some, it’s the one thing that keeps him a notch below a player like Patrick Mahomes in conversations about the game’s premier quarterbacks.
Lamar Jackson hasn’t proven he can win in the playoffs.
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Lamar Jackson lacks playoff success on his resume
Lamar Jackson has led the Ravens to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons. In his second season, he was a unanimous NFL MVP choice in guiding Baltimore to a league-best 14-2 record.
Yet the Ravens lost a wild-card game to the Los Angeles Chargers, 23-17. Then in his MVP season, Jackson accounted for 530 total yards (345 passing, 185 rushing) in a divisional playoff at home against the Tennessee Titans, but could only muster 12 points in a 28-12 upset loss.
Jackson got the Ravens back the following season and defeated the Titans this time around, 20-13, in a wild-card game. But against the Buffalo Bills the next week, Jackson and the Ravens’ offense went dormant in a 17-3 divisional round defeat.
Four years later, Jackson hasn’t played in another playoff game since. Last season the Ravens advanced to the playoffs, but without Jackson, who suffered a sprained PCL in Week 13 and was sidelined for the rest of the season, as Tyler Huntley took over a quarterback. Without their best player, the Ravens were one-and-done, losing a wild-card game to Cincinnati.
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It’s time for Lamar Jackson to be legendary
To recap, Lamar Jackson has a 1-3 postseason record and has never led the Ravens past the divisional round.
There’s no question Jackson is revered as an amazing talent; he’s easily among the elite athletes to play the quarterback position in the NFL.
Until he is able to overcome his postseason woes and lead the Ravens to the Super Bowl, however, Lamar Jackson will never earn the respect that elevates his name permanently among the truly great quarterbacks.
Excellent players win NFL MVP awards. Legendary players win Super Bowls. All that’s left for Lamar Jackson is to become a legend.