Lamar Jackson is simply one of a kind.
Not only has Jackson proved that he belongs at quarterback in the NFL, he’s quickly developed into one of the premier quarterbacks in the league. The Ravens offense transformed itself from a plodding unit which struggled to move the ball into a supercharged V12 engine doused in gasoline, ready to explode for a touchdown on any play. Baltimore leads the AFC North at 7-2 and is the most thrilling team in the league.
Jackson is the reason for that.
The Ravens are currently first in points per drive (2.95), third in yards per play (6.3), first in yards per carry (5.5), and eighth in adjusted yards per attempt (7.3). Baltimore has more than arguably the best offense in the league — they’re also the most enjoyable offense to watch because of what Jackson brings to the field. He’s improved as a passer since the Ravens Wild Card loss against the Los Angeles Chargers, where Jackson fumbled three times and went almost two hours of real time without a completion.
Even with that performance, the Ravens did not waver in their commitment to building an offense tailored to his strengths. They’ve built a pistol-based offense with a steamrolling offensive line, multiple tight end sets, a diverse group of running backs, and speed at the receiver position. The Ravens are playing in a way that’s startlingly different from everyone else in the league. With Jackson as the engineer, the Ravens are running an offense that only seemed possible in the old NCAA Football games by EA Sports.
The offense that Jackson took over halfway through last season was originally designed for former Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. They had a few trick plays ready for Jackson, but before Flacco got hurt Baltimore’s usage of Jackson was discombobulated. In his seven starts to close the season, the Ravens didn’t appear ready to run an offense that was perfectly suited to his strengths. Now, they undoubtedly have embraced the Lamar Jackson show.
Just look at what Jackson did against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday: He completed 15 of his 17 passing attempts (one of them was a spike!) for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Whether it was on the run, in the pocket, a wide open throw, or a tight window throw, Jackson just couldn’t be stopped. Oh yeah, he also had 65 rushing yards, including a 47-yard run where he snatched the soul of the Cincinnati defense.
For those who want to discredit that performance due to the quality of opponent, and the Bengals are a complete comedy of errors, go back and look at what he did to the Patriots’ top-ranked defense. Jackson didn’t have a perfect passer rating like he did against Miami and Cincinnati, but he was incredibly efficient with his touchdowns. According to Air Yards, Jackson produced a first down on 48% of his dropbacks against the Patriots and created a successful play on 67% of his dropbacks. Jackson also added two scores on the ground and pulled off scrambles that made him actually look like he was in a video game.
Having a player like Jackson who touches the ball on every play makes life easier for the rest of the Ravens’ offense. Jackson is arguably the best runner in the league and commands defensive attention on every single snap. His presence on the field forces defenders to hesitate on their reads which creates open holes for running backs, gets his offensive line better blocking angles, and helps in the intermediate passing game where linebackers and safeties are wary of his legs.
Hell, Mark Ingram is about to average five yards per carry for the second time in his career. He’s 30 years old. This is Jackson’s influence.
Quarterback wins are a poor way to evaluate talent, but what the Ravens have accomplished with Jackson at the helm is undeniably impressive. Jackson now has 16 regular season starts under his belt and the Ravens are 13-3 in that span, with two losses coming in one-score games against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
In those 16 starts, Jackson has a total of 3150 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, 1258 rushing yards, and 10 rushing touchdowns. Not bad!
Jackson’s numbers really get impressive when you compare his seven starts from last year to the nine starts he’s had this year. His adjusted yards per attempt (AY/A) has jumped from 6.83 to 8.28. His sack percentage has dropped from 8.6% to 6.6%. He’s thrown a touchdown on 5.9% of his passes compared to 3.5% a season ago. He’s even become a better runner this year, averaging a whopping 7.8 yards per carry this year compared to 5.3 in 2018 (excluding kneels).
This level of improvement is similar to the jump that he took from his freshman year at Louisville to his Heisman winning sophomore campaign. His AY/A exploded from 7.0 in 2015 to 9.1 in 2016. Everything Jackson has put on display throughout his public football career suggests that he’s a player with staying power and capable of making meaningful improvements on a year to year basis.
Jackson is a standout, franchise quarterback — and he’s only 22 years old! He’s currently ranked fourth in ESPN’s Quarterback Rating metric (QBR) and the eye test certainly matches the statistics he pumps out. If the Ravens defense can continue to improve during the season, Baltimore has a chance to reach the Super Bowl in Jackson’s first season as a starter.
