November 8, 2024

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With six years of NFL experience under his belt and a ripe 27 years old, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has established himself as one of this generation’s best signal-callers.

Jackson is the second-youngest two-time winner with two Associated Press Most Valuable Player titles under his belt. He received the first honor by unanimous voting in 2019 and the second in 2023. Add two All-Pros from the first team.

Jackson gained notoriety for his rushing prowess; in 2019, he amassed 1,206 yards, which set a new single-season record for the position. Throughout his six years in the league, he has been able to dominate opponents both airborne and on land thanks to his exceptional passing abilities.

Jackson guided the Ravens to an AFC Championship Game and a league-best 13-4 record in 2023, but his team narrowly missed the Super Bowl—one of the few career titles Jackson has yet to win.

Jackson already has many an astonishing performance to his name. From the beginning to his most recent successes, five of those outings stand out, all of which can be revisited on NFL+ before Jackson looks to take his team back to the postseason and defend his MVP crown in the upcoming season.

1) Jackson makes an entrance in blowout win

GAME: Week 1 of the 2019 NFL regular season, September 8, 2019, vs. Dolphins
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Jackson has been leading his club to victories and putting up excellent stats since nearly the beginning of his tenure as the Ravens’ starting quarterback. Jackson was selected as the Ravens starting for the 2019 season after demonstrating promise in a few limited outings during his rookie year. Jackson had started the previous season as Joe Flacco’s backup. And Jackson went all out in his first game under his new title, defeating the Dolphins 59-10 to start the season in a blowout. Jackson led three touchdown drives in the first quarter alone, scoring first thanks to 47- and 83-yard touchdown passes to receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.
By the end of the game, Jackson had added three more passing touchdowns and, with 324 passing yards on just 17 of 20 passes, had finished with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. It was the first of just two games that season that he would record that remarkable and elusive feat. The Ravens had high hopes for Jackson, who was 22 at the time, and he didn’t disappoint in his first game, which turned out to be his first MVP campaign.

2) Texans on wrong side of second-half playoff dominance

GAME: January 20, 2024, versus. Texans, AFC Divisional Round
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We go from one of Jackson’s early victories to his most recent one, in which he led the Ravens to a 2023 Divisional Round triumph over the Texans. Houston entered the game as the season’s Cinderella tale, but they faced the formidable No. 1-seeded Ravens, lead by Jackson, who went on to virtually win the game by himself and make his first trip to the AFC Championship Game. The afternoon began as a competitive contest, with the offenses of C.J. Stroud and Jackson trading blows throughout the first half to go into the halftime locker rooms level.

From then on, though, it was all Baltimore as Jackson spearheaded four consecutive scoring drives to blow the game wide open. In the third quarter, there was a rush touchdown as the player deftly maneuvered around opponents to score from 15 yards. Then he returned to passing, hitting Isaiah Likely in the end zone with a throw on the run. As icing on the cake, Jackson scored another run and celebrated by sprinting into the tunnel. His last line of stats? 100 yards and two touchdowns came from his rush, and he passed for 152 yards and two touchdowns. As one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks, Jackson gave this postseason romp his all by showcasing all sides of his game.

3) Mid-game injury can’t stop Jackson’s clutch play

GAME: Week 14 of the 2020 NFL regular season vs. the Browns, December 14, 2020
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Monday Night Football featured a huge AFC North battle, and Jackson was the standout player amid a ton of drama. The highlight of the quarterback’s historic Lamar running performance to start the game was a 44-yard scramble on third down that placed the Ravens in the red zone. He finished with 124 yards and two touchdowns on just nine runs. But Jackson left the game in the middle of the third quarter due to what were reported to be cramps, and the Browns rallied to take a 35-34 lead as third-string Baltimore quarterback Trace McSorley struggled and eventually got hurt.
Unexpectedly, Jackson entered the game again and performed admirably. At the two-minute warning, with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-five, Jackson’s first ball to Marquise Brown was a 44-yard pass on the run that gave Baltimore the lead again. Jackson’s four consecutive completions in the last minute set up the game-winning field goal, snatching triumph from the jaws of loss in a conclusion worthy of the best TV dramas when Cleveland knotted the score once more.

4) Jackson has all-time great performance in overtime thriller

GAME: Week 5 of the 2021 NFL regular season vs. the Colts, October 11, 2021
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Jackson produced during this Monday Night Football victory, just looking at the numbers. More than simply numbers, though, when the quarterback came alive in the last minutes of regulation and overtime, Jackson’s performance in critical situations was essential to a 19-point comeback. Jackson had a rough start to the game, as the offense was mainly shut down and the quarterback fumbled the ball on the goal line in the third quarter. After trailing 25–9 in the fourth quarter, Jackson turned things around and guided three straight touchdown drives. He also connected with Mark Andrews for two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to even the score at the end of regulation.
Additionally, Jackson never gave the Colts a chance after winning the opening possession of the extra period. He completed all six of his passes, scrambled a few times, and eventually found Marquise Brown in the end zone to seal the victory. With an incredible 86.05 completion %, Jackson finished with 442 passing yards (504 total yards) and four touchdowns. It was then described as “one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen” by coach John Harbaugh.

5) Jackson says Happy New Year en route to second MVP

GAME: Week 17 of the 2023 NFL regular season vs the Dolphins on December 31, 2023
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It only seems fair to end this list with another strong showing versus the Dolphins, after such a dominant one to start. While there was still no obvious front-runner for the NFL MVP award halfway through the 2023 season, Jackson solidified his status with his performance in the closing weeks of the season. Between Weeks 11 and 17, he put together six victories in a row, with Baltimore scoring an average of more than 33 points in those games. In Week 17, Jackson faced the Dolphins and finished this amazing run of play by scorching the Miami defense for 56 points.
With his third career game with a perfect passer rating, Jackson moved into a tie for the most all-time touchdown passes, having orchestrated touchdown drives on four of his first five drives. Jackson concluded the game with five touchdown passes. Among the game’s highlights was a stunning 33-yard pass to Odell Beckham Jr., who in the second quarter nearly got the Ravens to the goal line by simply keeping his feet in bounds.

In less than two minutes, Jackson scored two touchdown passes: a 75-yard toss to Zay Flowers, who had plenty of room, and a 35-yarder to Isaiah Likely right before halftime. The victory virtually guaranteed that Jackson would raise his second MVP trophy in the new year, sealed the AFC North, and gave the Ravens the top seed in the postseason. It was a perfect representation of Jackson’s skill at the game and his crucial contribution to the Ravens’ 2023 victory.

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