Lamar Jackson and the Ravens should terrify the NFL
By John Buhler
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens just beat the ever-living snot out of the Cincinnati Bengals this week. Every other NFL team should be terrified.
After handing the New England Patriots their first loss of the season on Sunday Night Football last week, the Baltimore Ravens ran roughshod on the division rival Cincinnati Bengals in the biggest blowout you’ll see in the NFL in November. 49-13 is as bad as it gets. Cincinnati can thank another brilliant performance out of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for such a savage beatdown.
Jackson completed 15-of-17 passes for 223 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He managed a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and even did some more damage to the hopeless Bengals defense with his legs. Jackson had seven carries for 65 yards and an unbelievable 47-yard touchdown run that can only be described as 2002 Michael Vick beating the Minnesota Vikings.
So the Ravens improve to 7-2 on the year and are in a great position to earn a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs. Given that they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Patriots, home-field advantage is certainly in play for the Ravens in the AFC playoff picture. But that shouldn’t matter, as this offense and this style of play can travel anywhere, making Baltimore a dangerous team.
Having to stop the Plus-1 Offense was too tall of a task for even the Evil Empire Patriots to handle. These two teams seem like they are on a collision to meet once again this January, with only the Kansas City Chiefs and maybe the Houston Texans getting in their way. This Ravens offense is picking up some serious steam. Nobody wants to play the Ravens right now, nobody.
And the best part, if you’re the Ravens, is that the offense was supposed to best the third-best phase of their football team. We know that the special teams are elite under head coach John Harbaugh and the defense is as good as it ever was under defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman may start getting looks as an NFL head coach.
Next: NFL Power Rankings: 30 Best QB of All-Time
This was Baltimore’s fifth win in a row, but the Ravens are about to hit a tough stretch in their schedule. Their next four opponents are the Texans, at the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers and at the Buffalo Bills. All four of those teams are serious playoff contenders. That being said, all four teams have to play this Ravens. They might drop a game or two, but they look great.