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BALTIMORE — All Lamar Jackson wants to do is be great.
The path to greatness has involved plenty of individual and team accolades in Jackson’s six years in the NFL. Not only has Jackson captured an MVP award (and is on his way toward winning a second one), but the Baltimore Ravens are 58-19 (.753 win percentage) in Jackson’s 77 regular season starts since he took over as the starter in Week 11 of the 2018 season — tied for the best win percentage in the NFL.
For all of Jackson’s accolades, he still has his doubters. Come January, those cynics got louder.
Entering Saturday’s divisional round game against the Houston Texans, Jackson was just 1-3 in his three career playoff starts. He completed just 55.9% of his passes with three touchdowns and five interceptions for a 68.3 rating. Included in those numbers are two 100-yard rushing games (tied for most for a quarterback in playoff history) and a rushing touchdown.
Jackson changed the narrative after the 34-10 victory over the Texans, as he became the first player in NFL history to throw for two touchdowns, rush for two touchdowns, rush for 100 yards, and have a 100-plus passer rating in a game. You can bet Jackson heard the doubting Thomases before his breakthrough playoff performance.
“You know I heard that,” Jackson said with a laugh. “I don’t even gotta hear it. I see it! But it is what it is. I don’t really care about what people say. I’m trying to win day in and day out.
“Every time I’m on that field, I’m trying to play to the best of my abilities. Those guys just had our team number in the past, but it’s a different team. Like I’ve been saying, we just have to stay locked in on what’s ahead of us.”
Jackson finished 16 of 22 for 152 yards with two touchdowns for a 121.8 passer rating. He led the Ravens with 100 yards on 11 carries and added two rushing touchdowns on his own. Jackson had four total touchdowns and seven…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ravens-lamar-jackson-fueled-by-critics-doubters-as-he-embraces-creating-own-legacy/
Author : Jeff Kerr
Publish date : 2024-01-21 14:50:43
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