Is Lamar Jackson or Isaiah Likely to blame for heart-wrenching Ravens interception?

Despite being the No. 1 overall seed again in what will be his second NFL MVP season, Lamar Jackson's otherwise brilliant 2023 campaign will end in utter disappointment. It was a low-scoring affair on Sunday afternoon, but it will be the defending Super Bowl champions getting back to the big game. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in a total tearjerker of sorts.

You have to give Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for being so in his bag during the AFC Championship game. While we have seen better games out of the Kansas City offense, holding Jackson and the rest of Todd Monken's Baltimore offense to 10 points is nothing short of impressive. Of course, we are going to be talking about the Ravens' red zone woes for the next several months.

From Zay Flowers fumbling the ball at the goal line, to him getting a moronic taunting penalty only a few plays prior, neither are going to be the ones we all go back to. What everyone will remember is quite possibly the worst interception of Jackson's NFL career. He threw the ball intro triple coverage because tight end Isaiah Likely said he was open. Well, he wasn't. That is why Deon Bush picked it off.

This is the type of play sub-.500 teams do on the regular during the regular season, not a No. 1 seed.

So who is more to blame in this bombastically bad blunder by Baltimore? It's the MVP, dude. Duh!

Lamar Jackson should fall on the sword so Isaiah Likely won't have to

Look. There are three reasons why Jackson needs to take ownership of this catastrophic interception he threw. One, he threw the ball and made a terrible read in the process. It is on him, 100 percent. Two, he is the franchise quarterback. Thus, he must take ownership of all that is bad, but hand out praise whenever something good happens. And three, Likely cannot carry this all by himself.

See, Jackson will have many more great moments in his playing career. Likely is best known for having a cool last name, playing tight end for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers when they were so freaking good during COVID, and now this. Hopefully, he has an act of redemption up his sleeve. Otherwise, he becomes the AFC version of Leon Lett It Go. Nobody wants to carry that burden.

At the end of the day, you can't make that throw if you aspire to be a champion. It is something we have not seen Jackson do besides winning the AFC North in his career. To have home-field advantage in the AFC and asking the Chiefs to come to your place should have given the Ravens a huge leg up in this. But once again, an AFC competitor besides Joe Burrow shrank vs. Mahomes.

You have to put this one on Jackson because he is going to win MVP and it comes with the territory.