Week 10 brought no shortage of excitement with 10 of 12 games decided by a single possession ahead of the marquee Seattle-San Francisco showdown on Monday night.
But none of it — not even the Patrick Mahomes jump pass — trumped Lamar Jackson’s 47-yard touchdown run that was made for Chris Berman’s famous “whoop!” on “NFL Primetime.” As head coach John Harbaugh said after the Ravens’ 49-13 demolition of Cincinnati, “They’ll be watching that run for decades and decades. That’s one that everyone in the country is going to see by tomorrow afternoon.”
It didn’t take nearly that long.
LAMAR. JACKSON. @Lj_Era8 TO THE HOUSE ‼️‼️
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— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 10, 2019
That Jackson’s highlight-reel run reminiscent of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders — watch some old highlights and tell me you don’t see it — came on a day in which he posted a perfect passer rating says it all about what we’re watching every Sunday. This goes beyond even the 22-year-old’s MVP candidacy that’s strengthening by the week or Baltimore’s growing Super Bowl aspirations, the goal that remains paramount to the 6-foot-2, 212-pound quarterback with thrilling athleticism and good passing acumen that’s still improving.
Playing just 100 miles from where he won the Heisman Trophy at Louisville on Sunday, Jackson continues to wreck the NFL quarterback establishment before our very eyes. Dwelling on long-term sustainability or trying to compare him to any quarterback who’s come before him is really missing the point and much of the fun. We haven’t seen anyone quite like this — certainly not in Baltimore or across the NFL.
A look at the numbers from his first 16 regular-season starts illustrates that point:
First 16 career starts
Wins
Lamar Jackson (13)
Patrick Mahomes (12)
Rush Yds
Lamar Jackson (1,258)
LaDainian Tomlinson (1,236)
Passer Rtg
Lamar Jackson (94.4)
Tom Brady (90.1)
Yds per Att
Lamar Jackson (7.6)
Aaron Rodgers (7.5)
Comp Pct
Lamar Jackson (63%)
Drew Brees (61%)
— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) November 11, 2019
He’s been called a “cheat code” and compared to playing Madden, but video games wish they were as fun as Jackson in the flesh. There’s so much substance that accompanies the highlight-reel style, however.
Consider Sunday’s first play from scrimmage when Jackson stood tall with pressure in his face to deliver a 49-yard strike to Marquise Brown. What about evading Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins and keeping his eyes downfield to find Nick Boyle over the middle for 10 yards? He took his hardest hit of the day — in the pocket — as he threw the pretty 20-yard touchdown to Brown on what would be his final play of the afternoon.
The spectacular plays garner the attention, of course, but the down-to-down consistency, good field vision, dramatically improved ball security, and better accuracy — all in his first full year as a starter — support why any lingering thought of “solving” Jackson and this offense borders on silly at this point. Sure, an opponent may devise a game plan to beat him and the Ravens in a given week, but there’s no “figuring out” a quarterback and an offensive system capable of punishing you in so many different ways.
The Ravens now own two of the four biggest margins of victory in the NFL this season. Jackson has produced two of the five perfect passer ratings, becoming only the second quarterback in league history to be perfect twice in the same season. He’s destroyed bad defenses and made game-changing plays at Seattle and against a New England defense that was off to a historic start through its first eight games. Jackson’s unique skill set and intangibles make his offensive teammates better and his defensive teammates grateful that he’s on their side. Opponents are simply left in awe after defeat.
Tough games remain down the stretch, but none are as imposing as their opponents seeing the Ravens on the schedule. The preparation is enough to give opposing coaches insomnia, let alone what awaits on game day. On Sunday, the Ravens improved to 7-2 for the first time since 2012 — the last time they won the Super Bowl — and won their fifth straight game in a season for the first time since 2006, which was the best regular-season campaign in franchise history at 13-3.
This goes beyond 2019, however, as the following sideline conversation between Harbaugh and Jackson showed:
8
“You changed the game, man.”
Coach Harbaugh’s sideline convo with @Lj_era8 at Cincinnati: pic.twitter.com/RR5buBCK3X
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 11, 2019
“You know how many little kids in this country are going to be wearing No. 8 playing quarterback for the next 20 years because of you?”
I’m not smart enough to know exactly what the future will bring, but I’m wise enough not to try to put any ceiling on the Lamar Jackson Experience.
What we’re watching in our own backyard is special.
