After Lamar Jackson’s Best Regular Season Yet, the Ravens’ Real Test Begins

For Baltimore to reach the Super Bowl, it will need to exorcise demons of years past, and their superstar quarterback will need to win three consecutive postseason games, one more than he’s won over his first six NFL campaigns.

Jackson has won a couple MVPS and could win it again after his remarkable season. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

For the Baltimore Ravens, the real season, the only season that matters, begins now. 

Yes, the Ravens won the AFC North on Saturday, beating the Cleveland Browns 35–10. It’s a noteworthy accomplishment. It’s also something nobody cares about in Baltimore after years of stellar play between September and December, only to see January turn into a nightmare. 

Since Lamar Jackson arrived as a first-round pick out of Louisville in 2018, the Ravens have enjoyed a 78–38 regular-season record. Only the Kansas City Chiefs have more wins during that span at 90–25. 

However, the postseason has infamously been another story. The losses haven’t just been far too prevalent, they’ve also been disastrous. In 2019, Baltimore went 14–2 and earned the AFC’s top seed, only to lose 28–12 to the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans in the divisional round. The Ravens finally won their first playoff game of the Jackson era in ’20, but then lost again in the divisional round—to the Buffalo Bills—mustering just three points. 

Last year, the Ravens once again were the No. 1 seed and finally reached the AFC title game by blowing out the Houston Texans, only to lose at home to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, 17–10. 

Now, they have another chance at redemption. Another chance to prove they’re more than an autumn juggernaut and a winter junker. 

Entering the AFC playoffs as the third seed, Baltimore has a challenging draw. In the opening round, the Ravens will either play the archrival Pittsburgh Steelers or the Los Angeles Chargers. Both are limited offensively, but each has defensive stars and great coaches, capable of keeping the game in question late into the fourth quarter. 

Should Baltimore advance, it would likely go to Buffalo for a date with Josh Allen and the Bills. This would be a rematch of Week 4, when on Sunday Night Football, the Ravens won 35–10 as Derrick Henry ran for 199 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. It would also be a matchup of the top two MVP candidates, perhaps the ultimate moment to settle the blazing-hot social media argument (the voting will be done after the regular season).

And if the Ravens beat the Bills, odds are they’ll head to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Chiefs, back where their season started in a game defined by Isaiah Likely’s shoe size. 

For Baltimore to reach the Super Bowl, it’ll probably need to exorcise demons of years past. Jackson will need to win three postseason games consecutively, one more than he’s won total over his first six NFL campaigns. And in those contests, slay Allen and Mahomes on the way to the Super Bowl. 

For that to happen, Baltimore must find its offense in the playoffs. 

In 2019, the Ravens averaged a league-best 33.2 points per game before being held to 12 in their loss to the Titans. The following season, Baltimore averaged 29.3 PPG and then scored a grand total of 23 points over the course of two playoff games. 

Last season, Baltimore ranked fourth with 28.4 PPG and then managed 10 in a loss to Kansas City, a game marred by five personal foul calls and two end-zone turnovers. 

This year, Baltimore has averaged 30.4 PPG, ranking third going into Saturday night. Another failure to light up the scoreboard in the playoffs would be even more disappointing after a season in which they brought aboard Henry in free agency and he ran for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns, turning in an All-Pro-worthy season. Jackson also had the best passing numbers of his career. On Saturday night, he crossed the 4,000-yard mark for the first time in his career, finishing the regular season with 41 TDs against only four interceptions.

Drilling down, Jackson has had ample issues in the playoffs. For his career, the two-time MVP has averaged 7.8 yards per attempt and a 65.1% completion rate with 1.9 total touchdowns per game in the regular season. Come the playoffs, Jackson’s numbers dwindle to 6.8 YPA, a 57.4% completion rate and 1.5 touchdowns.

Of course, Jackson has the most to gain and lose this postseason, arguably of any player on any team. 

Jackson has won four AFC North titles and two NFL MVPs. He is a generational talent who reinvented what it means to be a mobile quarterback, becoming the only signal-caller to ever rush for 1,000 yards in a season twice and breaking Michael Vick’s career rushing yards record in only seven seasons. Jackson is an iconic player in an era defined by passers more than ever before.

And yet without a Lombardi Trophy, Jackson won’t historically be mentioned alongside the greatest to ever do it. He won’t earn entry into the conversation including Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Montana, John Elway and Peyton Manning. Instead, he’d be relegated to the more painful category of greatest to never win it all, sharing a table with Dan Marino, Warren Moon and Dan Fouts. 

So for Baltimore and its superstar quarterback, the regular season was a success. It’s also a pointless exercise without winning it all.

Come next weekend, the Ravens begin their push to erase painful memories. 

They begin their quest to finally win the games that matter.