Playoff losses are mounting and they’re getting to Lamar Jackson. The usually mild-mannered quarterback lashed out verbally with an expletive-laden tirade after the Baltimore Ravens were beaten 27-25 by the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
Jackson threw an interception and lost a fumble in the first half. Mistakes that left the two-time NFL MVP fuming, despite an All-Pro teammate making more critical errors.
Facing the media at Highmark Stadium on Sunday, January 19, Jackson told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, I threw a [expletive] interception.” Zrebiec noted Jackson also “Said he knew what coverage Bills were in and he didn’t look off safety.”
“It’s [expletive] annoying. Sorry about my language. I’m tired of this [expletive]. l Protect the ball and we’re not having these conversations.”
Jackson’s frustration boiled over after another near-miss in pursuit of that elusive Super Bowl win. It’s a pursuit leaving the 28-year-old exhausted and with a sense of urgency, per Zrebiec: “I got to get over this. We’re right there. I’m tired of being right there. We need to punch our ticket.”
The waiting game is taking its toll on Jackson because he has so little to show after playing the best football of his career this season.
Playoff Woes Getting to Lamar Jackson
Dominating the regular season, but being below par in the playoffs has become a damaging career pattern for Jackson. He’s now 3-5 in the postseason, per ESPN.
Jackson didn’t have his worst game in Buffalo, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns, as well as adding 39 yards on the ground. The problem was the plays Jackson didn’t make. More specifically, negative plays like this interception thrown to safety Taylor Rapp.
Although The 33rd Team noted it was the “first INT by Lamar Jackson this season where the ball did not hit one of his teammate’s first,” Jackson was in no mood to make excuses.
He hardly could, especially after a second quarter fumble led to a rushing touchdown by Jackson’s closest MVP rival and Bills counterpart Josh Allen. Turnovers into points are how games are won and lost in the postseason, and Jackson and the Ravens have been on the wrong end of that equation too often.
As John Breech of CBS Sports pointed out, “This is Lamar Jackson’s fourth career playoff game where he’s thrown an interception AND lost a fumble. The Ravens are 0-3 in the previous three games.”
Jackson is the catalyst for the Ravens’ success, so he’s naturally in the firing line when they lose. Ironically, he could legitimately be excused as the least of the Ravens’ problems in Buffalo.
Ravens Failed in Key Areas vs. Bills
Jackson wasn’t helped by usually reliable receivers like three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews putting a fumble on the ground and inexplicably dropping what would’ve been a game-tying two-point conversion.
Protection also failed Jackson in the face of a sophisticated package of pressures by the Bills. The hosts sent a steady stream of blitzes that left Jackson “under pressure on over half of his dropbacks (54.5%) for the first time since Week 4, 2023. He’s been pressured 6 times and sacked once on 11 dropbacks (as of Damar Hamlin’s strip-sack),” according to Next Gen Stats.
Jackson struggled to make quick decisions amid the pressure, but he was hardly helped by receivers who didn’t shake man coverage often enough. More numbers from Next Gen Stats showed Buffalo “played man coverage on 46.7% of pass plays in the first half, the unit’s highest rate since Week 12, 2022. The Bills have generated pressure on all seven plays in man (100%), compared to one pressure on eight plays in zone (12.5%).”
Beating a defense applying pressure up front and on the back end is tough. Especially when Jackson was left to carry the load while lead running back Derrick Henry surprisingly got less than 20 carries, wasting what should have been a clear matchup win for the Ravens.
Jackson is putting the blame on his shoulders, but this was a collective collapse by a Ravens team seemingly unable to crack the playoff code.
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