Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson may soon become a three-time regular-season Most Valuable Player Award winner but has routinely received criticism because he holds a 2-4 playoff record and has yet to guide the franchise to a Super Bowl appearance.
Ahead of the upcoming wild-card playoff game between the 12-5 Ravens and 10-7 Pittsburgh Steelers held at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday night, Jackson offered an interesting theory regarding his postseason struggles.
“I’d just be too excited,” Jackson acknowledged while speaking with reporters on Tuesday, as shared by Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “That’s all. Too antsy. I’m seeing things before it happened, like, ‘Oh, I got to calm myself down.’ But just being more experienced, I’ve found a way to balance it out.”
Jackson may have just completed the best regular season of what’s becoming a Hall of Fame career. Per the StatMuse website, he finished Week 18 tied with Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals for the league lead in combined rushing and passing touchdowns (45) and ranked second with a combined 5,087 passing and rushing yards. According to ESPN, Jackson led the NFL with a 77.5 adjusted QBR for the campaign.
This past summer, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned that “quarterbacks who run a lot pay the price in the playoffs.” Breer also suggested that the punishment a quarterback such as Jackson endures during a grueling season “could affect accuracy at a time in the calendar when the margin for error is the smallest.”
Jackson, who led the league among quarterbacks with 915 rushing yards this season, tossed a total of six interceptions and lost three of six fumbles across the first six playoff starts of his career.
On Tuesday, Jackson touched upon the importance of playing “mistake-free” football during postseason tournaments. Meanwhile, Hall of Fame defensive back and Ravens radio analyst Rod Woodson recently told Hensley that Jackson has “pushed” and tried too hard “to make plays” during playoff games.
“And normally in any sport, when you’re trying to make plays, they don’t normally come. You let them come to you,” Woodson added.
As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Ravens second among the betting favorites at +290 odds to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX.
Fair or not, takes about Jackson failing to win on the biggest of stages will continue to hover over his legacy at least until he plays in a meaningful February game.
