The Baltimore Ravens are getting hot at the right time thanks to Lamar Jackson, but it’ll be on the young quarterback to lead the team to the playoffs.
As the saying goes, you’re only as good as your quarterback is. The success of your team is entirely tied to your quarterback’s play and it’s beyond rare to see teams win in spite of bad quarterback play. The Baltimore Ravens have experienced both of these scenarios first hand, winning two Super Bowls with career backup Trent Dilfer and playoff legend Joe Flacco. Now the team has Lamar Jackson, who is already surpassed both in terms of talent and regular-season success. The only thing missing is some post-season wins. That may finally change this season.
But before we can even talk about the playoffs, Baltimore needs to beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The atmosphere surrounding this game is already screaming “playoffs” as it is and it’ll be on Lamar Jackson to carry the Ravens to one of the most important games in recent memory. For what it’s worth, Jackson actually has a shot at some NFL history in terms of rushing yards, but we all know he doesn’t care about personal accolades. For Jackson, the only thing he cares about is winning.
Jackson is pretty good in that department, with a career regular-season record of 29-7 as a starter. When Jackson is on the field, Baltimore feels confident that it can win any game. Jackson is arguably the most talented athlete in the league and certainly the best when he’s on the field. With Jackson, anything seems possible.
More from Ebony Bird
- Will Baltimore Ravens be rewarded for risky Lamar Jackson decision?
- The Baltimore Ravens Big Gamble
- Ravens Super Bowl odds present fascinating insight on Lamar Jackson’s future
- Should Baltimore Ravens be interested in this recently released WR
- Do the Baltimore Ravens have serious interest in this free agent wide out?
That same success hasn’t translated to the post-season, however, as Lamar Jackson is a poultry 0-2 and the losses have been upsetting, to say the least. Jackson set the bar high and to this point, he’s fallen short. Regular-season success doesn’t matter when you can’t win in the post-season.
All that is about to change. Like we already mentioned, it starts with taking down the Bengals convincingly to secure a playoff spot. Baltimore is heavily favored in that game, and they should be considering how hot the team is playing and how talented they are. After that, the Ravens just need to maintain their momentum in the playoffs.
In the AFC playoff picture, it seems like the two best teams are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. After those two teams, everyone else is just trying to keep up. The Ravens are as hot as any team in football right now and with the way they’re playing they may be the only team to threaten the Chiefs and Bills. The Tennessee Titans offense is fantastic, but their defense is not up to par. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers have slowed down significantly and the rest of the wildcard teams in some order of the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, and Miami Dolphins simply aren’t good enough for a title run.
Unlike all those teams, Baltimore has the talent on both sides of the ball to run the table. There were some pundits who believed this team could go 16-0 for a reason before the season started for a reason, and that talent didn’t suddenly disappear. While it hasn’t been the world-beater that it was supposed to be, it’s still a good roster. Most importanly though, it has a great quarterback and at the end of the day that’s all that matters.
Lamar Jackson is tired of losing when it matters most and that’s precisely why I firmly believe this is the year he wills this team to wins. Whether he’s doing it with his arm or his legs it doesn’t matter because defenses can’t keep up. Jackson is playing better football than he has in his entire career right now and that should terrify the rest of the NFL.
The Baltimore Ravens are going to be counting on Lamar Jackson from here on out to win the rest of its games and win a Super Bowl. With how he’s performing currently, we should be nothing but confident in that. If you aren’t, then prepare to be proven wrong and convinced of the truth: Lamar Jackson is the man to do carry this team.