Lamar Jackson Offered Teammates Apology for His One Mistake in Christmas Day Game

The MVP candidate was nearly flawless in Baltimore's 31–2 win.

Josh Wilson | 12 Hours Ago

Jackson smiles after the Ravens beat the Texans on Christmas day / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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After completing 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards, rushing for 87 yards on four carries, and scoring three touchdowns (one rushing, two passing), it wouldn't seem like Lamar Jackson had much to apologize for regarding his Christmas Day performance in a huge win over the Houston Texans.

But Jackson didn't like the fact that the Ravens, as good as their defense was, gave up some points on the afternoon. He especially didn't like that the points were partially his fault after the Texans secured a safety by downing the Ravens in their own end zone.

According to Jeff Zrebiec who covers the Ravens for The Athletic, Jackson apologized to the defense for ruining their goose egg. It would have been just the second shutout of the NFL season after the Packers earned the first on Monday night in a 34–0 win over the Saints.

The safety wasn't directly on Jackson. The Ravens fielded a punt at their own six yard line, but after accepting a penalty against Houston, they had the Texans punt again. This time, it pushed the Texans to their four yard line, worse starting field position. On their first play, running back Derrick Henry rushed to the left but was stopped and pushed back for the safety.

The apology is quite the gesture from Jackson, who put on a performance that certainly made the MVP race a lot more interesting. To him, it still wasn't good enough.

Definite leadership gesture.

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Published 12 Hours Ago

JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.