What Are Colts Keys vs. Lamar Jackson?
INDIANAPOLIS — When asked last week who is the fastest quarterback he’s ever played against, Indianapolis Colts defensive end Justin Houston responded without hesitation.
“Lamar Jackson,” Houston said of the Baltimore Ravens third-year All-Pro quarterback and reigning NFL MVP.
Why?
“Have you watched him play?” Houston said with a chuckle. “I was in Kansas City. I played against him, so hands down and by far the quickest, fastest quarterback. That’s no knock to any other quarterback. There are a lot of quarterbacks with speed, but no other quarterback moves the way he moves in that pocket. When he gets out of the pocket, he is so dangerous.”
The Colts (5-2) hope to get up close and personal with Jackson when the Ravens (5-2) visit Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. The Ravens are coming off a 28-24 home loss to Pittsburgh in which Jackson had two interceptions and two lost fumbles.
Question is, can the Colts defensive replicate that performance against arguably the most elusive running quarterback in the league? Jackson’s 411 rushing yards rank 18th, he averages 6.2 yards per carry, and has two TDs. As a passer, he’s completed 115-of-190 attempts for 1,343 yards (7.1 yards per attempt) and 12 TDs with four interceptions.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson looks to run against Pittsburgh.
Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports
But he’s also taken 19 sacks, and the Ravens will be without offensive left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury last week.
“I think the biggest thing is just don’t play scared,” Houston said Wednesday. “Respect him, but don’t fear him. So don’t let that slow (you) down in your rush. I know a lot of guys get timid. They kind of slow down on their rush and don’t be as aggressive at the line. You just have to play your game, if anything.”
The Colts had five sacks in Sunday’s 41-21 road win at Detroit, including All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard’s strip-sack for a fumble that Houston recovered.
Leonard, the All-Pro leader of a fast defense, is a key component against Jackson. He as well as linebacker Bobby Okereke are fast and play important roles in preventing Jackson from breaking free.
Alas, that’s easier said than done. And despite the fact the Ravens lost to the Steelers, they still piled up 265 yards rushing on 47 carries (5.6 per carry) with one TD against a stingy defense. The Ravens are No. 1 with 1,251 rushing yards, 178.7 per game, and 5.5 yards per carry.
Jackson ran for 65 yards on 16 carries (4.1 per carry), but twice lost fumbles on scrambles inside the red zone.
Lamar Jackson averages 6.2 yards per rushing attempt.
Mitchell Layton/USA TODAY Sports
It’s not enough to just be fast. The Colts defense has been reminded that limiting Jackson requires staying in the best possible positions. Then don’t miss when given the chance to hit him. Again, easier said than done.
“Did you sneak into our team meeting this morning?” Colts head coach Frank Reich said Wednesday. “You’re right, because that is one of the things we talked about this morning is his speed, but discipline. The way we talk about it is two sides of the same coin. Lamar is a great player and he’s going to make his plays, but our goal is to minimize those the best we can. One way to do that is with speed and discipline. It has to be the combination of both. It’s like a two-sided coin – one is not more important than the other. They are equally important and you need both of them to give yourself the best chance to stop a guy like Lamar Jackson.”
Houston, who has 3.5 sacks this season and 89.5 in his career, was asked how he learned not to play scared in these situations.
“Just experiences playing for a while,” the 10th-year pro said, “because there have been times I’ve played against moving quarterbacks and after the game, I watched some of my rushes and there were several chances I could’ve won and I was more concerned about keeping the guy in the pocket instead of just being me and rushing.”
(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
