ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Until further notice, there is Playoff Lamar Jackson and Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson.
Both were on display in the Ravens’ 27-25 season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC divisional round Sunday night here at Highmark Stadium.
Playoff Lamar threw an interception that Bills safety Taylor Rapp picked off at the Buffalo 43-yard line with 3:52 left in the first quarter. Playoff Lamar then fumbled on their next drive, which Bills outside linebacker Von Miller returned 39 yards to the Ravens’ 24 to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Josh Allen. Playoff Lamar also tripped over the foot of center Tyler Linderbaum and was sacked in the first half.
Then there is MVP Lamar Jackson: running, gunning, improvising and throwing some darts into tight windows, as he did on the 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Isaiah Likely with 1:33 left before fellow tight end Mark Andrews dropped a potential game-tying 2-point conversion attempt.
MVP Lamar needs to show up in the postseason.
Right now, Jackson has a 3-5 record in the playoffs after seven years in the NFL. We all expected better after last season, when the Ravens lost at home to the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10, in the AFC championship game.
I’m not blaming Playoff Lamar for the loss to Buffalo. There are plenty of fingers to be pointed, including at the Ravens’ No. 1 run defense that allowed 147 yards on 36 carries. There was Andrews, whose fumble after a catch early in the fourth quarter led to a 21-yard field goal by Tyler Bass. There is this myth about an improved Ravens defense, which lacks a quality cornerback on the left side of the field.
But it all starts with Playoff Lamar, and it should because he is the starting quarterback. It always starts with that position. In the first half Sunday, he looked lost at times. He appeared frustrated and flustered as he completed 6 of 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, but he didn’t appear in control.
Excuse me, the term is “locked in.” That’s popular among the media. He wasn’t locked in during the first half Sunday night. Because of his record in the postseason, Jackson is now in the same class as Buffalo’s Jim Kelly and Miami’s Dan Marino for setting all kinds of records but never hoisting a Lombardi Trophy for winning a Super Bowl. In the postseason, Jackson has committed 11 turnovers.
He had some explaining to do after Sunday’s loss. Where to begin? Let him try.
“We’re a team. In the first half, I had two costly turnovers,” he said. “Me not holding the safety, me just knowing the coverage and knowing it was man [coverage], I threw a B.S. interception. It was 7-7 at the time. I believe they scored after that. We battled back, fumbled the snap trying to make something happen. It was like an RPO [run-pass option] play, so I couldn’t really throw the ball to [Isaiah] Likely [because] the offensive line was down the field, so I tried to make something happen, tried to squeeze the ball. It slipped out of my hand, [and the Bills] picked it up, got some yards that I think lead to points for them, so it’s a team effort out there.
“Turnovers play a factor. Penalties play a factor. Tonight, the turnovers … We can’t have that [expletive]. That’s why we lost the game, because as you can see, we’re moving the ball wonderfully. It’s just hold onto the [expletive] ball. I’m sorry for my language. I’m just tired of this.”
Then there is MVP Lamar. He set career highs in passing yards (4,172), touchdown passes (41) and passer rating (119.6) while throwing just four interceptions during the regular season. His seven games with a passer rating of at least 135 also set a single-season NFL record, and he rushed for 915 yards to lead all quarterbacks.
MVP Lamar will probably win his third NFL Most Valuable Player Award this year. He won it in 2019 and in 2023, but it’s not about winning MVP. It’s about Super Bowl titles.
The MVPs are something a player can talk about with his children or grandchildren after they retire, but not now. Jackson outdueled the other MVP candidate in Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who completed only 16 of 22 passes for 127 yards against the Ravens while Jackson, after a quiet first half, finished with 254 yards and two touchdowns on 18 of 25 passing.
But now it’s Allen who has the chance to ruin Kansas City’s quest for a record third straight Super Bowl title while Jackson is home.
Jackson is a pure pleasure to watch and deserves all the accolades. That last eight-play, 88-yard drive that resulted in Likely’s touchdown catch was vintage Jackson, from the scramble to throwing back across his body to just sitting in the pocket and delivering a strike over the middle.
But right now he’s in the same class as Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, who did not win his first title until when he was 37 years old. It’s not about MVPs, but winning Super Bowls.
Playoff Lamar will have to carry that burden for another offseason.
Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun.