OWINGS MILLS — Entering his seventh training camp with the Ravens, quarterback Lamar Jackson has shown that he is an elite quarterback, already winning two NFL MVP awards
But Jackson still has critics because of a 2-4 record in the postseason.
“I never thought I’d be a two-time MVP winner. If anything, I thought I’d be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback by now,” Jackson said after the awards ceremony in Las Vegas. “I feel like I still have work to do and stuff to prove to the naysayers. But I need the naysayers.”
Jackson has been exceptional during the regular season, going 58-19. The Ravens finished with the best record in the NFL last season and in 2019. Jackson was named NFL MVP in each of those seasons.
After going 14-2 in the 2019 regular season, the Ravens were upset by the Tennessee Titans, 28-12, in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Ravens entered that game riding a 12-game winning streak and Jackson looked unstoppable, which only added frustration to the loss.
The Ravens went 13-4 last year with victories over the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. The Ravens managed to advance to the AFC Championship Game but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10, when they inexplicably abandoned their running game after leading the NFL with 156.5 yards rushing per game.
The Ravens have reloaded for another potential Super Bowl run with the addition of four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry, who ran for 195 yards and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass in that 2019-20 playoff game in Baltimore. The Ravens have three players who were First-Team All-Pro — inside linebacker Roquan Smith, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, and safety Kyle Hamilton — to lead a defense that was among the best in the NFL last season.
General manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh are confident they have the talent to make a Super Bowl run after falling one game short last season
“If you want to be considered one of the greats of all time, it’s what you do in the postseason,” said Louis Riddick, an NFL and college football analyst for ESPN. “[Jackson] will be judged by what he does in the postseason.”
