Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson stole the headlines with a magnificent Thursday night football performance. The Ravens pummeled the New York Jets 42-21. The win secured them the AFC North division title, with them now needing only one more win to secure the first seed in the AFC. It does leave us wondering about Lamar Jackson’s contract with the Ravens.
Lamar Jackson Breaks NFL Record
Lamar Steals QB Rushing Record
Jackson was the undoubted star against the Jets, as he broke the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. He needed 23 yards going into the game, ending up with 86 yards. He is now well clear of Michael Vick’s 1,039 mark, at 1,103. .
Jackson was also surgical with his arm, throwing five touchdown passes for the third time this season. His accuracy has improved massively, as shown by how he diced up the Jets secondary for 212 yards on 15-23 passes. Lamar leads the NFL with 33 touchdown passes. He is the MVP favorite with 40 total touchdowns and damn near 4,000 total yards this season.
Ravens Special Teams Errors
As a long-time special teams coach John Harbaugh has always coached a top tier unit in Baltimore. Against the Jets, however, they made several uncharacteristic mistakes. Firstly in the first quarter kicker Justin Tucker missed only his third extra point of his career.
Then in the second half, it looked as if they got away with a botched punt return as the ball glanced off Anthony Levine’s shoulder. Later in the fourth quarter punter, Sam Koch had his first blocked punt of the season, which the Jets returned for a touchdown. The short week could explain these errors, but if they creep into the playoffs, they will be punished.
Ravens Claim AFC North
For the second successive year, the Baltimore Ravens are AFC North champions. For the teams, it’s clear this is the first goal, but they ultimately want more from the season. The team is on an incredible ten-game winning streak and has the first AFC seed in sight.