Baltimore Ravens smash Cowboys: 3 positives, 3 negatives

Positive 2: Lamar Jackson was efficient, had a dime to Marquise Brown

Lamar Jackson was very efficient in this game. He was 12-17 passing for 101 yards and two touchdowns. On a night where he didn’t need to throw the ball a lot, he made most of his throws count. Did he have a couple of misses, ones that he wants back? Yes. Let’s not lose sight of the fact though, that Jackson only had five incomplete passes.

By the way, that beautiful dime in the corner of the end zone, you know the one that Marquise Brown snagged, only franchise quarterbacks have the talent to make that throw. Take the Jackson isn’t the guy argument somewhere else if you’re so inclined. Jackson’s efficiency is always his best trait in games where he deserves praise. It showed again tonight.

He used his legs to convert multiple third downs into first downs. He scrambled out of situations that would have been problematic for most quarterbacks without his gift. Without Dez Bryant (how heartbreaking is that!), Willie Snead, and Mark Andrews he maximized positives. That’s how you need to look at this game from the 2019 NFL MVP.

Negative 2: Marquise Brown’s performance is a mixed bag

Let’s talk about Jackson’s interception. It wasn’t a great pass by any stretch of the imagination. That also doesn’t excuse Marquise Brown for not putting up two hands. He had the ability to make that catch, no defender hindered his ability to put both hands up. If the ball has to be right where you want it, every single time, you’re playing the wrong sport.

Brown had five catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was on an incredibly pretty route. He did his job to perfection. So here you have the one big positive with the one big negative. It’s still hard to figure out what to make of Brown and that’s the problem.