OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Earlier this season, Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Tee Martin performed a clip of Kansas City Chiefs‘ Patrick Mahomes in final season’s AFC Championship Game for Lamar Jackson and his teammates.
“Composure, composure, composure,” Mahomes yelled within the huddle in the course of the fourth quarter. “I need y’all to complete, however I need composure.”
Martin’s message to Jackson? Championship groups are emotionally and mentally able to win the hardest video games.
Jackson has gained as many NFL Most Valuable Player awards as postseason video games — two. In a yr when he put up his greatest statistical numbers — changing into the primary participant to supply greater than 4,000 passing yards and 900 dashing yards in a season — Jackson faces a distinction that illustrates his regular-season domination and playoff disappointment: He’s the one a number of NFL MVP who has not gained a Super Bowl, a lot much less reached one.
Helping Jackson overcome his playoff struggles and advance to the Super Bowl has develop into the franchise’s most urgent precedence. Since 2018 and amongst quarterbacks with no less than 5 begins, Jackson has the NFL’s fourth-best regular-season document at 70-24 (.745) however is tied for the worst postseason mark at 2-4 (.333). In the playoffs, Jackson has produced as many turnovers (6 interceptions, 3 misplaced fumbles) as touchdowns (9).
When Baltimore hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers in Saturday’s AFC wild-card sport (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video), the Ravens will discover out if Jackson has discovered easy methods to lean on an upgraded supporting solid, keep away from uncharacteristic errors and use his previous postseason expertise to zero in on his final purpose.
“I’d simply be too excited,” Jackson stated when recalling what his past postseasons have taught him. “That’s all. Too antsy. I’m seeing issues earlier than it occurred, like, ‘Oh, I bought to calm myself down.’ But simply being extra skilled, I’ve discovered a solution to stability it out.”
Asked what Jackson’s mindset shall be within the playoffs, tight finish Mark Andrews stated: “Locked in. Completely locked in.”
The Ravens have tried to scale back the strain on Jackson by bettering the gamers round him. In the previous three drafts, Jackson has watched Baltimore bolster the offensive line by including Pro Bowl heart Tyler Linderbaum and rookie beginning proper sort out Roger Rosengarten. Jackson has his first Pro Bowl huge receiver in Zay Flowers, however the go catcher’s availability is in question after he injured his proper knee within the regular-season finale.
Baltimore’s greatest addition got here when it signed free agent operating again Derrick Henry, whose 1,921 dashing yards are the eleventh most in a single season in NFL historical past. His highly effective presence, particularly late in video games, was meant to strike concern in defenses and supply some aid for Jackson.
“Now,” stated Hall of Fame defensive again Rod Woodson, a Ravens radio analyst, “Lamar does not need to be Superman.”
THERE’S ONLY ONE postseason sport Jackson nonetheless thinks about: final season’s AFC championship, a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs.
“It was proper there,” Jackson stated, alluding to reaching the Super Bowl. “But my thoughts, I’m targeted on now, although. It is what it’s at this level.”
In that sport, Jackson’s greatest mistake was an uncommon one.
With the Chiefs main 17-7 within the fourth quarter, Jackson moved Baltimore to the Kansas City 25-yard line earlier than launching a dangerous throw to tight finish Isaiah Likely, who was a step behind a crowd of defenders. By the time the underthrown go reached the top zone, Likely was surrounded by three Chiefs gamers, and Jackson’s throw was intercepted.
“In the earlier years, I feel he is pushed, he is tried to make performs within the postseason,” Woodson stated. “And usually in any sport, if you’re making an attempt to make performs, they do not usually come. You allow them to come to you.”
Jackson has averaged one turnover each 82 snaps within the common season. In the playoffs? One turnover each 45 snaps.
In Baltimore’s 2020 divisional spherical loss to the Buffalo Bills, Jackson threw a pick-six on a 101-yard return by cornerback Taron Johnson. He has thrown just one different pick-six in his profession and it got here off a deflected go towards the Cleveland Browns in 2023.
“You bought to attempt to be mistake-free,” Jackson stated. “The sport’s gained with the turnover battle and preserving the ball in your management, shifting the ball down the sphere, getting first downs. … Obviously, that is the way you win these video games.”
Jackson’s change in play from the common season to the postseason is likely one of the most dramatic within the league. His QBR from the common season (67.4) to the postseason (53.2) is a 14.2-point drop-off, the second highest amongst quarterbacks since 2006, behind solely Carolina Panthers veteran Andy Dalton, in keeping with ESPN Research.
In Jackson’s first playoff sport, within the 2018 wild-card spherical, he fumbled thrice towards the Los Angeles Chargers. In the 2019 divisional spherical, he had two interceptions towards the Tennessee Titans. Both video games had been losses.
“When [Lamar is] at his greatest, he is enjoying free,” Linderbaum stated. “So I do not assume he must have any strain or really feel any strain. I feel he is at his greatest when he is having enjoyable, and that is our job to attempt to get him into that mind-set.”
JACKSON’S HIGHLIGHT-MAKING performs have made him and the Ravens must-watch TV. The reigning NFL MVP has performed a virtually excellent common season by eliminating errors.
He has thrown 4 interceptions in 2024, with three coming off his receiver’s palms and the opposite coming when a receiver did not end his route. In his earlier MVP seasons, Jackson threw six interceptions in 2019 and 7 in 2023.
“His thoughts is on one other degree,” Martin stated. “What he sees, what he thinks about, what he anticipates and the way he acts on it’s one other yr superior.”
Jackson is the primary participant in NFL historical past to supply greater than 40 landing passes (41) and fewer than 5 interceptions (4) in a season.
“Every sport, his will, his struggle, he is after perfection,” Andrews stated. “His will to win video games and be on level, to be him, to be Lamar, and even elevate that from week to week is actually unbelievable.”
Backup quarterback Josh Johnson believes Jackson has restricted his errors by taking possession of the offense and getting everybody on the identical web page.
“Lamar’s consciousness just isn’t talked about sufficient,” Johnson stated. “His God-given means permits him to do issues that most individuals can solely dream of. And so lots of people assume he is improvising. But quite a lot of instances it isn’t.”
On Saturday, Jackson faces his greatest postseason problem within the Steelers, a crew that traditionally has compelled him to make errors. They are the one crew that Jackson has thrown extra interceptions (9) than touchdowns (8) towards.
Jackson, who’s 2-4 towards Pittsburgh, had his greatest sport towards them in final month’s 34-17 win, throwing for 207 yards and three touchdowns. Despite this, he could not have a good time. His final interception of the season got here towards them within the fourth quarter after a miscommunication with huge receiver Rashod Bateman, who lower off his route.
“I used to be mad till the sport was over,” Jackson stated. “I’m mendacity, I’m nonetheless mad. The sport [is] over, I’m nonetheless sizzling.”
When the Ravens captured the AFC North title for a second straight season in Week 18, Jackson did not put on the celebratory hat and T-shirt like lots of his teammates. Inside the locker room, he was sad in regards to the final drive due to what Ravens coach John Harbaugh referred to as “some personnel challenges.”
“The dude is a competitor,” Harbaugh stated. “He’s a fighter. He’s simply one in every of a form. There’s no person like Lamar Jackson.”
IN JACKSON’S SEVENTH season, attending to a Super Bowl is the final field to examine. But it was that means for a lot of quarterbacks.
Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre did not attain their first Super Bowls till they had been 27. Jackson turned 28 on Tuesday.
It took Peyton Manning and Drew Brees till age 30 and their ninth seasons to advance to their first Super Bowls. Manning had gained two NFL MVPs earlier than reaching his first Super Bowl.
“Experience counts in lots of conditions, and he is bought quite a lot of expertise within the playoffs now,” stated Marty Mornhinweg, Jackson’s first offensive coordinator with Baltimore. “Playoff video games are totally different than regular-season video games. So he is had that have. And I might anticipate Lamar and the Baltimore Ravens to win a pair Super Bowls within the close to future.”
Before the beginning of this season, Ravens common supervisor Eric DeCosta seen an “urgency” in Jackson. DeCosta stated Jackson was in tune along with his teammates and coaches in practices.
“I can actually get a way that this man is so hyper-focused on this season and actually working to get a hoop,” DeCosta stated in August.
At the beginning of coaching camp, Jackson recalled what he stated when Baltimore chosen him with the final decide of the primary spherical within the 2018 draft: “They’re going to get a Super Bowl out of me. Believe that.”
“I stated that, and I meant that,” Jackson stated. “This is the very best degree of the sport we play. You’ve bought to exit a champion, and that is what I wish to be labeled as — a champion. [I don’t] simply wish to be labeled as MVP right here and there. I wish to be a champion.”
