The Ravens beat the Colts, but all is not well with Lamar Jackson

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback is not performing like he did last season, where he won the NFL MVP.

At this point last year, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was the most electric and exciting superstar in the entire NFL. He led the Ravens to a AFC North title and the top seed in the playoffs before easily winning the NFL MVP.

Nearly everyone expected Jackson to put up a repeat performance this year, considering he uses his arm and legs as dangerous weapons. Man, were those individuals wrong.

On Sunday, the Ravens defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24-10 to improve their record to 6-2 on the season. While credit can be given to the effort of Baltimore’s stifling defense, there’s one thing we can’t get over. Something’s up with Jackson.

What’s up with Lamar Jackson?

Jackson entered Week 9 having to contend with a stout Colts pass defense that ranked as the fifth-best in the league (213.6 yards/game). Many would expect a player of his caliber to overcome the opposition’s effort, no matter how great they are. That didn’t happen in the first half, as the entire Ravens offense was limited to a measly 55 yards.

According to NFL Research, that was the lowest output Baltimore had in the first half since last season, when they put up 95 yards of offense against the Buffalo Bills in Week 14.

To make matters worse for the Ravens, they own the dubious distinction of being the first team to punt on every first-half possession this season, per ESPN Stats and Info. Yes, not even one of the NFC East teams or the New York Jets have ever done less in the first half. Think about that.

Jackson finished the game by completing 19-of-23 pass attempts for 170 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. The Ravens signal caller did most of his damage on the ground, where he rushed for 58 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.

Head coach John Harbaugh’s game plan appeared to be for Jackson to play it safe and limit his mistakes. This comes one week after Jackson got pummeled by the Pittsburgh Steelers. In that bitter matchup, Jackson was sacked four times, fumbled three times (two lost) and threw two interceptions.

Besides that, the Ravens entered Week 9 with the second-worst passing offense in the league (179.9 yards/game). We get it, the Ravens are a run-first team, but those passing numbers concerning to see, especially since they’re in the playoff hunt.

Last year, Jackson led the league with 36 passing touchdowns. Through eight games in 2020, Jackson only has 12 touchdowns. Let’s face it, barring an unreal second half, Jackson isn’t matching his MVP numbers. It doesn’t feel like Jackson is going to heave passes deep downfield this season a la Patrick Mahomes or Russell Wilson.

Jackson has eight games to turn things around. He either improves, gets the “defenses figured him out” treatment from his critics, or Ravens fans will blame the “Madden Curse” on his passing woes. It could go in any direction. But it’s up to him to silence the unwanted noise.