NFL

Eating Crow: All the Ways Lamar Jackson Is Shutting Up His Haters

Darren Ryding - August 22, 2024

NFL

Eating Crow: All the Ways Lamar Jackson Is Shutting Up His Haters

Darren Ryding - August 22, 2024

Two things are certain in Baltimore in the early months of 2024. First, there will be snow, probably lots of it. Second, Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson will win his second NFL MVP Award. It’s been a wild season in the NFL overall. But for Jackson, it’s been one of his best after a run of multiple injury-hampered years. On the heels of his controversial contract situation before the season, the Ravens star has more than his fair share of haters. It could even be said there was an unfair agenda against him after the performances he’s put on the field this year.

But now he’s shutting those haters up because he’s proven he’s not a one-season wonder. The Ravens cruised to the playoffs with a 13-3 record, locking up the no. 1 seed in the AFC with Jackson playing a key role. Let’s look at how he’s silencing his haters because he has simply been magnificent.

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The Miami Beatdown

The Miami Dolphins entered their game against the Ravens on New Year’s Eve with the NFL’s most-vaunted offense. But Baltimore made a mockery of their rivals by blowing them out of the water. Meanwhile, Jackson won the AFC Player of the Week Award after he showed his haters how good he is now (via Sports Illustrated).

Jackson threw an incredible five touchdown passes as he completed 18 of 21 passes for 321 yards. One of the best moments saw him find Zay Flowers for a magnificent 75-yard score. This was Jackson at his devastating best as he most likely sealed the MVP deal. He also proved that he was worth every dime of his mega contract.

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Brock Purdy Ravens Defense Usatsi — NBC Sports

Smashing the Niners

The Niners will somehow enter the postseason with a slight edge over Baltimore as Super Bowl favorites. But this was incredibly disrespectful to Jackson and his Baltimore teammates. They delivered a crushing defeat to Kyle Shanahan’s team as they gave their fans a late Christmas gift.

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Brock Purdy threw four interceptions as he had the worst game of his career under intense pressure. However, Jackson stayed calm as he proved himself to haters. He threw a couple of touchdown passes and completed 23 of 35 passes. It wasn’t his most dramatic performance but he was quietly effective on the day (via CBS Sports).

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Lamar Jackson 051523 2000 57b9e71387394f1188475bf55560c6c8 — People

Touchdown King

When the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. are making spectacular catches, it’s easy to forget about the man throwing balls at them. Jackson threw 24 touchdown passes in the 2023 regular season, the third-best total of his career. The highest total came in 2019 when he had an unbelievable 36.

Some haters will say that he peaked too early but they’re clearly not watching football. They’re overlooking the Ravens’ running game which is giving them more touchdowns. Jackson’s accuracy is going up as his statistics prove. Meanwhile, his overall passing is improving and that’s excellent for Baltimore (via The Athletic).

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Lamar Jackson Nfl Game 032823 1 83f3f75733ac4219ad3efb0b332da6bb — People

Sheer Consistency

Consistency is something that Jackson has lacked over the past couple of seasons. To be fair, he’s had his fair share of injury woes and this impacted his capacity for sustained success on the field. But now the Ravens are seeing the other side of the coin because they’re keeping him healthy.

Lamar Jackson Q And A.jpg — Rolling Stone

Meanwhile, starting quarterbacks are going down like officers in World War One trenches. We’ve seen the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, and Deshaun Watson suffer season-ending injuries. But Jackson’s fitness ensured that he could find a consistent flow (via WMAR).

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Lamar Jackson Contract 3.jpg — Sportscasting

Humility

One of the many ways that Jackson is silencing his haters is through his sheer humility. Previously people said that he made excuses when things didn’t go right and never accepted the blame. However, either they were being unfair or Jackson’s character was developing (via Medium).

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These days he’s happy to give his teammates the credit. One example is when he praised Odell Beckham Jr. after he caught a brilliant pass against the Rams. Jackson downplayed it and said: “O.B. just did what O.B. do—made a tremendous catch, got his feet down inbounds. It was wonderful. O.B. did all of that. I just had to give him a chance.”

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Elevates Teammates

There’s no denying that Jackson is getting the best out of his teammates. The quarterback is elevating players like Odell Beckham Jr. and Isaiah Likely. This won him the trust of his coaching staff as well as the respect of fans and teammates. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh says that people don’t always appreciate the quarterback.

Gettyimages 1418587855 Scaled — The Athletic

He said: “Lamar deserves so much credit. You forget Lamar sometimes. All these other things are happening, and we’re not going to talk about Lamar Jackson who drove the offense.” This is something that his haters casually ignore but they won’t be able to do so for much longer (via Baltimore Ravens).

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Injury-Free

We’ve already mentioned Jackson’s injuries but let’s do a deeper dive. Injuries curtailed him to 12 starts in both 2021 and 2022. He suffered ankle problems and a PCL sprain that impacted his rushing game. Many people thought that his form would fall off a cliff because they didn’t rate him as a passer.

Several NFL teams reportedly passed on the former Louisville quarterback because of this. Now Jackson is making a mockery of his haters and doubters with some outstanding displays. Injuries can happen to any player but he was unlucky because he had a few in back-to-back seasons (via Fox Sports).

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Backup Pressure

The Ravens recently announced that they’d bench Jackson for the final game of the season against the Steelers. There was no reason to risk his health so they gave Tyler Huntley a rare opportunity. However, Huntley is one of the best backups in the league. It’s easy to forget that he’s coming off a Pro Bowl season.

Gettyimages 1447270592 1024x683 — The Athletic

Some of Jackson’s haters even said that John Harbaugh should make Huntley their long-term starter. It was a ridiculous proposition overall. In the end, Jackson proved himself over and over again as he showed that he was one of the NFL’s elite stars. He overcame intense pressure to deliver MVP form for his franchise (via The Hill).

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Responsibility

Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken deserves his share of the credit. He has changed the Ravens’ system since he took over from Greg Roman. Monken is working to empower his quarterback and to give him more responsibility. Jackson is thriving in this environment and silencing his haters.

“It’s giving me the free will to put us in better situations,” Jackson said (via Baltimore Ravens). “He already told me, If you don’t like it, check out of it. But if you mess it up, it’s on you. Everybody is going to know it’s on you. It’s him giving me that freedom.” That’s bad news for the rest of the AFC because Jackson is on fire.

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Clear Leader

Lebron James agrees that Jackson is the clear frontrunner for the 2023 MVP Award. The quarterback is way ahead of the competition after a series of dazzling displays. Brock Purdy was in contention until he had a meltdown against Jackson’s Ravens. Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ inconsistencies hurt Dak Prescott’s chances (via AP).

49ers Christian Mccaffrey Took Trade Panthers — Yardbreaker

Christian McCaffrey was the other big name in the conversation but he was always fighting an uphill battle. The Niners running back rushed for 1,459 yards with 14 touchdowns as well as seven receiving touchdowns. Richard Sherman wants him to win it but Jackson’s displays give him the edge – along with the fact that he plays the favored position for the award – quarterback.

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Filkins Tua Tagovailo.jpg — The New York Times

Crushing Rivals

This has been a strange year in the NFL with more rookie quarterbacks than we’ve ever seen before. Meanwhile, everybody can beat anybody on their day. We’ve seen that with the Eagles and the Niners going tit for tat. However, the Ravens are shining brightly on a six-game winning streak before their final clash of the season.

Skysports Brock Purdy San Francisco 49ers 6030751 — Sky Sports

Yes, they lost games against the likes of the Browns and the Steelers. But they rebuilt and showed higher levels of consistency than their rivals. Jackson’s form has been a big part of this as he outshone his counterparts like Tua Tagovailoa and Brock Purdy. It’s been an outstanding year for the MVP contender (via Baltimore Banner).

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Skip Bayless Original Scaled — Front Office Sports

Unanimous King

Skip Bayless hasn’t been afraid to criticize Jackson verbosely throughout his career. The controversial veteran broadcaster likes to share his opinions even if we don’t want to hear them. Nonetheless, we give him credit where it’s due because he’s all about the Jackson hype train now (via Essentially Sports).

Bayless even made the case for Jackson being the first two-time unanimous MVP. He said: “He is the leader, the playmaker, the driving force of the Ravens in the locker room on the sideline, in the huddle, and with the football in his hands.” That’s quite the turnaround for the FOX Sports star.

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No Contract Worries

Contract negotiations overshadowed half of Jackson’s 2022 season. Some so-called experts said that he overplayed his hand because he negotiated without an agent. They also noted that teams rejected him because of his injuries and style of play. In the end, Jackson was the winner with his five-year deal worth $260 million.

Now he is playing with a freedom because it lifted a massive weight off his mind. People don’t consider the human element of football trades. For months Jackson didn’t know where he was going to be living in 2023. Now he’s committed to Baltimore and that’s great news for everyone involved (via Bleacher Report).

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Third Active QB With Multiple MVPs

It says a lot about Jackson’s achievements that he will only be the 11th multi-time MVP. This will put him alongside luminaries like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. There are only two other active players who have accomplished this feat. Jackson will keep company with two modern-day legends; Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

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Many haters dismiss this prize as a quarterback’s award. No doubt they’ll find some way to dismiss Jackson’s achievement because they refuse to give him credit. They’ll say that it comes with an asterisk because of injuries across the league. But Jackson deserves this because he has been outstanding (via Fox Sports).

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Passer Rating

The Ravens superstar achieved the second-highest passer rating of his career in 2023. He scored 102.7 as he fell narrowly short of his total in his first MVP year in 2019. Many haters wrote him off after this year when he didn’t immediately catapult the Ravens into Super Bowl contention.

He helped Baltimore obtain the top seed in the AFC as they look forward to a strong postseason campaign. Everything can change in the blink of an eye in the NFL but it’s fantastic to see the prime version of Jackson emerging. Some people doubted that they’d ever see it but he’s here (via HNHH).

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No Drama

One of the best aspects of Jackson’s personality is that he doesn’t bring any drama. His haters like to say that he moans when things go wrong or that he doesn’t take responsibility. In 2023, he showed increased maturity as he elevated his teammates. It’s lies to say that he unsettles their environment.

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He lives a relatively quiet life outside of football with his long-term girlfriend Jaime Taylor. The pair have been together since 2017 and have one daughter. Football and family are Jackson’s main focuses. This should be catnip to NFL diehards who don’t want their stars to think about anything else (via Sportskeeda).

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Skysports Lamar Jackson Baltimore Ravens 6320532 — Sky Sports

Extended Dropbacks

One of the most impressive elements of Jackson’s campaign is his ability under pressure. People don’t give him enough credit for how he prospers under pressure. Jackson is the NFL’s most successful passer on extended dropbacks. His speed and ability to shift angles give him an advantage over many of his rivals.

Jackson explained how it’s working for him. He said: “When I’m seeing certain defenses on film, I’m checking out of plays and putting us in better situations. In the past, I don’t think I was able to do it. Now, I’m able to do it. It’s helping us out a lot.” Even his haters begrudgingly admit he’s excellent at this (via The Daily Courier).

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Passing Stats

Jackson is flourishing as a passer in 2023 with an impressive 3,678 yards. Yes, it’s a bit short of the ambitious 6,000-yard target he hilariously set before the start of the season but we think he’s still doing well. It’s the highest total of his career while he also has career highs in pass attempts, completions, and yards per attempt.

Los Angeles Rams V Baltimore Ravens — NBC Sports

The quarterback has always offered a dual-threat but both fans and haters focus on his impressive rushing abilities. That may be his trademark but it’s wrong to say it’s all that he can do. As Jackson matures he’s proving that he’s a capable passer and one of the best players in the NFL today (via San Diego Union-Tribune).

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Stacking Up Awards

Jackson is on course to become a two-time MVP. It’s an unbelievable achievement that keeps him in touch with another modern great, Patrick Mahomes. Many of Jackson’s haters wrote him off a year ago and doubted that he’d reach this level again. They also said that the Ravens made a mistake with their contract (via Baltimore Ravens).

However, Jackson remains humble and insists that his mind is on greater glory. He wants a Super Bowl ring and that’s why he’s downplaying his success. The QB said: “It’s an honor just being acknowledged, to be in the conversation with great guys. But I’m just trying to stay locked in trying to win because I want another trophy.”

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Evolution

Previously, Jackson’s haters described him as a glorified running back. They wrongly dismissed his abilities as a passer because they didn’t think he was playing in the right position. Some of the criticism had racial connotations because they hinted he wasn’t smart enough to read the game.

There has been a marked evolution in Jackson’s game in 2023. He made the fewest rush attempts of his career in 2023 because the system was different. Todd Monken’s offense wasn’t the same as Greg Roman’s. It’s also arguably more sustainable for Jackson’s long-term development and that’s a scary prospect (via Sports Illustrated).

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Eating Crow: All the Ways Lamar Jackson Is Shutting Up His Haters

Eating Crow: All the Ways Lamar Jackson Is Shutting Up His Haters

The Miami Beatdown

Smashing the Niners

Touchdown King

Sheer Consistency

Humility

Elevates Teammates

Injury-Free

Backup Pressure

Responsibility

Clear Leader

Crushing Rivals

Unanimous King

No Contract Worries

Third Active QB With Multiple MVPs

Passer Rating

No Drama

Extended Dropbacks

Passing Stats

Stacking Up Awards

Evolution

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