Ravens vs. Eagles Brings Lamar Jackson Trade Full Circle

The Baltimore Ravens traded up with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018 to draft Lamar Jackson.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in the first half at SoFi Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles meet in a cross-conference clash, it'll be a matchup between two of football's best and a potential Super Bowl LVIII preview.

While the Eagles are riding a seven-game winning streak, four of which have come by at least 17 points. One would be remiss to count out the Ravens at home, though, and a large part of that is the play of quarterback Lamar Jackson.

And if it wasn't for the Eagles, Jackson could very well be playing for a different team.

At the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium, Jackson found himself waiting as each draft pick in the first round passed by, including four quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield was the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns, the New York Jets took Sam Darnold at No. 3, the Buffalo Bills traded up to the seventh overall pick to draft Josh Allen and Josh Rosen was taken at No. 10 overall by the Arizona Cardinals after they traded up with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Ravens passed on Jackson once in the first round when they took tight end Hayden Hurst at No. 25 after trading down twice. Then, with the Eagles on the board for the last pick of the first round, Baltimore traded up 20 picks to end the draft day skid for Jackson.

To say the trade has panned out for Baltimore would be an understatement. Jackson is a two-time MVP and has a strong case to win the third of his career through 12 games this season. He leads the league in passing yards (3,053) passing touchdowns (27), passer rating (117.9) and quarterback rating (75.9).

Jackson's 27 passing touchdowns have already surpassed his total from last season, when he won the second MVP of his career. He's also run for 599 yards and three touchdowns.

Baltimore has gone 66-23 in the regular season with Jackson at quarterback and has made the playoffs in five of his six seasons under center. If he can win the third MVP of his career, Jackson would be the seventh quarterback in NFL history to accomplish the feat, joining a list that includes Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

For the Eagles, they landed tight end Dallas Goedert after trading up three spots from the second-round pick they got from Baltimore. The following year, Philadelphia used the other second-round pick it got from the Ravens to draft running back Miles Sanders.

Sunday marks the first time the Ravens and Eagles have clashed in Baltimore with Jackson at quarterback. Jackson has only faced Philadelphia once in 2020, and he completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown and he had nine carries for 108 yards and one score in a 30-28 road win for the Ravens.

If the Ravens are going to snap the Eagles' seven-game winning streak, it'll more than likely take another stellar performance from Jackson. And if Jackson can put together another MVP-like performance in what would be a signature win for Baltimore, they'll have the Eagles to thank again for helping them land one of the elite quarterbacks in football.

The Ravens (8-4) and Eagles (9-2) square off on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET at M&T Bank Stadium.

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