Lamar Jackson is really good at football. Okay, that's not breaking news, but sometimes it's jarring just how important he is to the Baltimore Ravens, and Sunday's 24-18 win is the perfect example of his value. Despite playing just one half, Lamar racked up 222 yards and two touchdowns, helping Baltimore take a commanding 24-7 halftime lead.
Unfortunately, Jackson left the game with an ankle injury. As a result, the Ravens' offense went from unstoppable to unwatchable, and this allowed the Titans to climb back. In the first half, Baltimore racked up 288 yards, scoring on four out of six drives. It was a completely different story in the second half—the Ravens recorded just 96 yards, punting four straight times to open up the half.
The good news is that Lamar's injury is currently considered day-to-day, and that the Ravens still pulled off a win. Regardless, this game perfectly underscores Jackson's value.
Week 4 is a reminder of Lamar Jackson's importance to the Baltimore Ravens
To be fair, most teams don't look very good with their backup QB in. The difference with the Ravens is particularly stark, though.
In addition to the stats mentioned earlier, Declan Doyle limited the playbook once Tyler Huntley entered the game. The Ravens moved away from hunting deep passes, which is typically a staple of Doyle's system. Likewise, they cut back on their use of play-action.
Part of this is because the Ravens were playing with a lead, but another undeniable factor is that Huntley isn't nearly as skilled a pocket passer as Jackson is.
Statistically, Huntley performed well, completing eight of his nine passes. Still, the Ravens cutting out a good chunk of their plays made their offense far more predictable. Being efficient on short-yardage passes is great, but to truly give a defense headaches, you need to drum up some explosive plays. The threat of Lamar both as a passer and runner unlocks this part of the Ravens' offense, and without him it's nonexistent.
Outside of Sunday, we saw this last year when he missed four games, and quite literally every time he's been injured. Relevantly, the Ravens have a 6-11 record in games where Lamar has missed. He is the difference between Baltimore being a legitimate juggernaut or a bottom-10 team.
Frankly, if the Ravens were without Lamar for the whole game, I think they would have lost to the winless Titans. And if he misses any time, they'll be in big trouble. Luckily, as noted, this doesn't appear to be a long-term injury.
Of course, there are plenty of valuable players across the league, but Jackson gives the Ravens a unique advantage. Lamar's importance to his team can only possibly be matched by Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. He's the two-time MVP for good reason, and there's a strong chance he'll win a third one this year. In a roundabout way, this win may have added to Lamar's early MVP case.
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