Lamar Jackson is going to have to wear this.
It’s not the singular story of the Ravens’ gutting AFC championship game loss to the Chiefs. It’s honestly not even the most important one. It’s just how these things go.
What happened to the Ravens that led to their season meeting a disappointing demise? The biggest factors (to me) seemed to be panic and a lack of discipline. The two might be the same in some instances. But the team that had almost everything go their way this season didn’t have everything go their way against the Chiefs and they handled it about as well as I did when I was 16 and a young lady showed the slightest amount of interest in me.
They panicked. We’ll never, in our lives, understand how Ravens running backs combined for SIX carries in an AFC championship game that was never more than a 10-point game. There’s no answer. There’s no justification. It’s absolutely insane. And it came off as panic from offensive coordinator Todd Monken after the Ravens fell behind. But it certainly wasn’t just him. We’ll rightfully criticize wide receiver Zay Flowers for recklessly stretching out for the goal line when he already had a first down in hand, but you could sense that he was feeling what so many others were feeling. “This score needs to change and it needs to change now, so I’ve got to change it myself.” It was panicked.
And it was undisciplined, which unfortunately defined Flowers’ actions after his 54-yard catch just four plays earlier. “Undisciplined” could also describe the two penalties that gifted the Chiefs 30 yards on their final drive of the first half, which ultimately lead to three points. You can choose whether you want to describe Jackson’s fourth-quarter interception into triple coverage as “panicked” or “undisciplined.” Dealer’s choice.
It’s infuriating that the Ravens so happily conspired with the Chiefs to fall short of the Super Bowl (taking nothing away from the Chiefs, who certainly did what was necessary to win another conference championship). It’s frustrating that a team didn’t really appear to give it their best shot in a situation where so many things had lined up so nicely for them.
It’s no one player or person’s fault. The defense certainly got the job done in the second half but was gutted early in the game, which helped set the tone.
There’s no one to fire after the disappointing performance (not that some Ravens fans won’t try). It was just a really brutal performance in a very high-profile spot that is tremendously disappointing. And yet, it’s still one football game and in no ways a reflection of the team, franchise or anyone else. It’s not the most disappointing loss in team history. It’s not the “same old Ravens” or whatever nonsense the attention seekers on social media will suggest. There’s little reason to think that the Ravens can’t be even better a year from now and find themselves right back in the same position.
But Lamar Jackson will still have to wear this.
That’s the reality of the NFL. Jackson wasn’t great in the AFC championship game, but he produced more offense than Patrick Mahomes and if Flowers had launched himself a half-second earlier, Jackson would have produced the same amount of points as Mahomes did. This wasn’t a one-sided affair by any stretch of the imagination, no matter how many newspapers of record weirdly attempt to suggest otherwise. He was … not quite as good as the Ravens needed him to be. Which is a shame.
But again, such a take isn’t going to get the attention that pundits and fans crave. So that won’t be the narrative that surrounds Jackson. Instead, it will continue to be about his questionable playoff record (2-4 now) and whatever nonsense someone who wants to detract from him will throw against the wall in an attempt to create stickage. “This type of quarterback will never win the biggest games when he’s forced to make throws,” or “he’s good but he’s not like REAL quarterbacks,” or whatever the quarterbackiest nonsense you can imagine will continue to be thrown his way.
And he’ll have to wear it.
That’s how this whole thing works, y’know? We measure success in Super Bowls. Dan Marino might be the best quarterback of all time, but not a person views him as such because of this. If Jackson had a better statistical day in a two-score loss, the narrative would remain the same. The people who want to detract from Jackson will have their ammunition for another year. And fair or not, a $50-plus million annual salary brings a more significant microscope by which to be viewed.
Jackson easily earned that salary this season. He became an (almost certain) two-time league MVP and delivered the first AFC championship game to be hosted by the Ravens in the history of the franchise. Those things matter even if fans (rightfully) wanted more. And everything we know about him suggests that his desire to touch confetti will drive him far more than any comments from attention-seeking loudmouths ever could.
So while I say that he “has” to wear it, my belief is that he’ll choose to. Nothing we’ve seen about this young man and his drive suggests anything other than a player who will be hell-bent on taking another step next year.
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