KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Ravens were down 20-10 at halftime, and it was the perfect time for quarterback Lamar Jackson to finally escape the encompassing shadow of Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.
Then he disappeared.
Poof. Gone.
Jackson left the game late in the third quarter and was replaced by backup Cooper Rush because of a hamstring injury, and there is no doubt about Jackson’s ailment.
But imagine the headlines on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” if Jackson had brought the Ravens back and they won in Kansas City, where the Chiefs are nearly unbeatable.
Hold the presses!
Instead, the Ravens were blown out, 37-20, at Arrowhead Stadium. Now, Mahomes has a 6-1 record against Jackson, and this was really a beatdown.
As for the highly anticipated showdown between Mahomes and Jackson, Mahomes was the winner, completing 25 of 37 passes for 270 yards and four touchdowns. He finished with a passer rating of 124.8.
As for Jackson, he was 14 of 20 for 147 yards with one touchdown, one interception, one fumble and a passer rating of 86.9.
“No, I don’t have any updates on the seriousness of injuries right now. There’s nothing that looks like it’s [going to be] season-ending, by any stretch, for anybody,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “But we’ll have to look at those injuries tomorrow and see where we’re at going forward.”
Jackson started the game off strong as the Ravens went 70 yards on nine plays in an opening drive that lasted 5:25. It was finished on an 11-yard screen pass in the middle of the field to halfback Justice Hill as the Ravens took a 7-0 lead.
That must have annoyed Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who started calling blitzes and keeping a spy on Jackson if he escaped through the line of scrimmage. Throughout the game, Jackson was sacked three times and hit on eight other occasions.
Then he started to unravel, much like he did against Detroit last week on “Monday Night Football.”
The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player completed 12 of 18 passes in the first half for 108 yards, but he didn’t appear comfortable. Twice he was called for delay of game penalties, and once he was called for intentional grounding. That should never happen, not if the coach or the quarterback are paying close attention.
Despite those problems, there was a belief that Jackson would overcome those setbacks and that this offense would become magical again with Jackson leading the way.
It never happened.
Mahomes opened the third quarter with a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive, connecting on an 11-yard touchdown pass with Tyquan Thornton. Jackson answered with an eight-play, 56-yard march that was finished by a 32-yard field goal from Tyler Loop.
This appeared to be a shootout, and maybe with a turnover or two, the Ravens might get back in the game.
That was wishful thinking.
Throughout the game, and even last week against the Lions when they sacked him seven times in a 38-30 loss, Jackson never took over.
In that time, he has been hesitant, holding the ball too long. There were times when he could have run but chose not to.
There have been times in those games when he should have just thrown the ball away instead of taking a sack and losing yards, but he certainly isn’t the same Jackson I’ve seen in his first seven seasons. His feet appear slower, but that might all come down to the decision-making process.
Instead of a shootout, it was the Mahomes show again. He now appears comfortable in that offense, especially with receiver Xavier Worthy back on the field after missing virtually the first three games with a shoulder injury.
The expectations are just as high with Jackson because he is the best dual-threat quarterback in NFL history, and the Ravens have loaded him up with top receivers such as Rashod Bateman, Zay Flowers and DeAndre Hopkins and tight end Mark Andrews.
Yet, something is missing. It’s obvious that the running game has been lacking with Derrick Henry, who had only 42 yards on eight carries Sunday against Kansas City. The offensive line has struggled in the past two weeks, especially guards Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees and right tackle Roger Rosengarten. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley tried to play on a bad ankle but only lasted a quarter against Kansas City.
Despite all of those problems, including the defensive line missing three starters, I just expected more from Jackson because he has been carrying this team for years now.
Regardless of Andy Reid being a better big-game coach than Harbaugh or Spagnuolo always coming up with some new defensive maneuver that throttles Jackson, I thought it was the perfect time for him to step out of Mahomes’ shadow. But it never happened.
Mahomes showed why he is the best quarterback in recent history, possibly only second to Tom Brady. And Jackson showed that he still has some growing pains, even though he missed the perfect chance to replace Mahomes at the top of the proverbial food chain, much like Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen did against Jackson in the Ravens’ season-opening loss to the Bills.
Allen showed up. Jackson didn’t.
Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun.
