Ravens: Lamar Jackson makes NFL history in Week 2 victory
By Kristen Wong
Two stars collided on Sunday night when the Baltimore Ravens faced the Kansas City Chiefs at home. One of them, Lamar Jackson, emerged as the victor.
At least in this matchup.
Jackson needed to play a nearly perfect game to beat the Chiefs, and he did. He had us in the first quarter, we’re not going to lie — his two interceptions allowed Kansas City to take the lead. And the Chiefs led for most of the game…up until they didn’t.
With a minute left to go in the game and the Ravens up by one, Jackson converted on Baltimore’s 4th-and-1, effectively ending the game while also cementing his place in NFL history.
Yes, this was his first win against Patrick “Kryptonite” Mahomes. But he broke far more impressive records, too.
Jackson’s 107 rushing yards last night tied him for the most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback in league history.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson broke league records in victory vs. Chiefs
And that’s not all. In this stunning upset, Jackson actually bested Vick as the fastest quarterback to reach 3,000 career rushing yards, reaching the milestone in just 48 games (Vick took 61 games).
He also became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 200+ yards, rush for 100+ yards, and rush for two touchdowns in a regular-season game.
Jackson added those two rushing touchdowns to his resume (one of which involved a celebratory half-cartwheel into the end zone), and he also threw for 239 yards and one touchdown. Those early interceptions docked his overall QB rating to 78.9, but we could care less.
The 2019 league MVP terrorized Kansas City with his insane running ability all night. Just how insane? Making-Mahomes-look-average insane.
That’s how good Jackson was as he ran in what could very well be his best game of the 2021 season to beat the Chiefs for the first time in his four-year career.
We’d like to see the looks on those critics’ faces now, the critics who said Jackson might be “figured out” by opposing defenses this year. Jackson just outplayed Mahomes, smoked the entire Kansas City defense, and made NFL history.
Figure that one out.
For a Ravens’ team so depleted by injuries, suffering at the hands of cruel, ruthless fate, Jackson became their savior. He gave them hope.
After Sunday night’s game, Lamar Jackson’s name will forever echo in M&T Bank Stadium as one of the league’s most prolific rushing quarterbacks of all time.
Go ahead and change Jackson’s record against Mahomes to 1-3. It’s comeback season.