Ravens’ Jackson will still face doubters in playoffs

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — As far as Lamar Jackson is concerned, most of his postseason disappointments are well in the past.

There’s one obvious exception — last year’s AFC championship game, when the top-seeded Ravens were at home against Kansas City but still couldn’t overcome the Chiefs.

“I was young in the beginning, and it happened fast. To be honest with you, the only one I do think about is the AFC championship,” Jackson said. “That’s probably the only playoff game I do think about — we were right there. But I’m focused now though. It is what it is at this point. We have to worry about the Steelers.”

The Ravens return to the postseason with a lot of the same strengths they had a year ago when they hosted Kansas City, but this time Baltimore will need two wins just to reach the AFC title game. As the No. 3 seed in the conference, the Ravens face Pittsburgh on Saturday night. And it goes without saying that their star quarterback is under pressure to deliver.

The last few weeks of the regular season gave Baltimore plenty of reasons to feel optimistic as Jackson led the team to four straight victories and an AFC North title. He may have done enough to win a third MVP award, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 900 in one season.

Now, however, a different stat hangs over Jackson: his 2-4 record in playoff games. At this time of year, Jackson still has his share of doubters — and acknowledges himself that his approach hasn’t always been ideal.

“Just too excited — that’s all,” he said. “Too antsy, that’s all. I’m seeing things before it happens like, ‘Oh, I have to calm myself down.’ But just being more experienced, I’ve found a way to balance it out.”

Jackson’s postseason resume is still a pretty small sample, considering he’s in his seventh season. He’s made six playoff starts, far fewer than Patrick Mahomes or this week’s opponent, Russell Wilson. It’s also fewer than the likes of Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford.

Of course, part of the reason he’s made so few starts is that he’s failed to advance often enough, but injuries that ended his 2021 and 2022 seasons played a role, too.

In an era of hot takes and championship-or-bust analysis, it doesn’t take much for a player to be tagged with the dreaded narrative that he comes up small when it matters. Jackson’s resume — two MVPs but only two playoff victories — makes him an easy target. If that’s going to change, he’ll probably need to reach the Super Bowl at some point — or at the very least put up unequivocally great numbers in defeat.

Jackson did account for more than 500 yards passing and rushing when the Ravens dropped their playoff opener to Tennessee in his first MVP season of 2019. But he turned the ball over three times in that game and took several sacks. Last season, Jackson accounted for four touchdowns in a playoff rout of Houston, but the following week, Baltimore’s offense was largely contained in a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs.

And so the criticism lingers, and no amount of excellence during the regular season — even in prime-time games, when he’s been terrific — will totally silence the questions.

One factor in Jackson’s favor is his age. He turned 28 on Tuesday. That’s still a couple years younger than Peyton Manning was when he won his first Super Bowl, and Manning also had multiple MVPs at that point.

Is Jackson more likely to reach the Super Bowl now than he was last year? It’s hard to make that claim when the Ravens might have to beat the Steelers, Bills and Chiefs in order, the last two on the road. But Jackson is in his second season under offensive coordinator Todd Monken and his first with running back Derrick Henry in the backfield. Baltimore is the first team ever to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 3,000 in the same season.

So the Ravens and Jackson certainly are a threat to break through, even if it won’t be easy.

“You have to try to be mistake free,” Jackson said. “The game is won with the turnover battle and keeping the ball in your control — moving the ball down the field, getting first downs, putting points on the board, obviously. That’s how you win those games.”

NOTES: Ravens WR Zay Flowers (knee) missed practice for a second straight day. RB Justice Hill (concussion/illness) was a full participant.