Browns DC Prepares for Intimidating Change In Ravens Lamar Jackson

Baltimore Ravens superstar Lamar Jackson is on another level right now.

Jon Alfano | Oct 25, 2024

Aug 5, 2024; Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz during practice at the Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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Baltimore Ravens

As insane as it sounds for a two-time MVP, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson may be playing the best football of his NFL career right now.

Through seven games this season, Jackson has completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 1,810 yards, 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions, plus 455 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. If he keeps up the pace, he'll be the first player in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season.

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Next up for Jackson is a road matchup against the division rival Cleveland Browns. Before that, though, Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz identified a major change he's seen in Jackson's game.

"He's gone from a run-first quarterback to a pass-first quarterback that can make plays with his feet," Schwartz said, per the Browns' site. "They've pretty much opened the whole passing game up to him and he can rely on that, but he also has those legs that he can make explosive plays."

Even still, it's not like Jackson isn't a threat as a rusher. The seventh-year pro has 18 rushes of 10 yards or more this season, trailing only San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason.

However, Schwartz' point about Jackson's passing game reaching new heights is more than valid. He's putting up incredible numbers while maintaining a strong presence on the ground, and it makes him harder to defend than ever.

"When we say there's another level, it's just like, alright, like we didn't know there was another level because he's been playing on such a great level and high level," Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said. "He's using his feet, he's doing miraculous plays, extending plays as all great quarterbacks do."

The Browns' defense has been solid this season, but their atrocious offense, which hasn't scored 20 points all season and just passed 300 yards for the first time in Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, has undone them. The Ravens have been almost the opposite with their offense dominating and defense underperforming, specifically against the pass, but the former has been so effective that it's masked a lot of issues.

The reason for the offense's domination? There's just so much to keep track of for opposing defenses.

"They make you defend so much in the run game, you just can't concentrate on taking a running back out," Schwartz said. "You have the quarterback keepers that you have to handle. You have the jet sweeps to [Zay] Flowers that you have to handle, the jailbreak screens to Flowers and the other receivers. You have to defend all 11 on every single play, you just can't focus on one person."

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Published Oct 25, 2024

JON ALFANO