Within the Baltimore Ravens’ season finale in Pittsburgh, Lamar Jackson regarded like his two-time NFL Most Worthwhile Participant self once more, placing collectively his finest quarter in what had been a irritating 12 months.
Jackson launched landing passes of fifty and 64 yards to Zay Flowers and even turned a near-certain sack right into a magical escape. This marked the second time in NFL historical past {that a} participant threw two go-ahead touchdowns of fifty yards or longer within the fourth quarter, based on ESPN Analysis.
It was a efficiency that will have carried Baltimore to an AFC North title, if not for Tyler Loop’s missed 44-yard subject aim as time expired. As an alternative, Baltimore’s 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh led to an offseason crammed with questions, beginning with a tough one: The place was this Jackson all season?
“I do not assume it is anyone factor while you take a look at him,” mentioned Wealthy Gannon, a former NFL quarterback who’s a number on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Three previous NFL MVP QBs — Gannon, together with Matt Ryan and Kurt Warner — weighed in on the problems that impacted Jackson’s tumultuous season, from his lowered apply time to poor move safety and a decline in dashing makes an attempt.
The largest ramification of the Ravens’ 8-9 season was the shock firing of John Harbaugh, who was the franchise’s winningest coach after 18 seasons. Now, for brand spanking new coach Jesse Minter, the precedence is to get Jackson again on observe. Minter just lately informed the Ravens’ web site that he needs an offensive system the place Jackson does not should really feel like he is “Superman” each time the ball is snapped.
Jackson is likely one of the NFL’s all-time distinctive skills because of his capability to win video games together with his arm and elusiveness. He’s the league’s profession chief in passer ranking (102.2) and dashing yards by a quarterback (6,522).
However final season, Jackson struggled together with his accuracy, consistency and explosiveness. With a 6-7 report, which turned his first shedding season as a beginning quarterback, Jackson averaged 196.1 yards passing per recreation and threw 21 landing passes — his fewest since 2022.
“As I used to be watching movie, I could not put my finger on something that mentioned, ‘Oh, OK, this is what he is doing totally different’ or ‘He is making unhealthy selections now that he did not make earlier than,'” mentioned Warner, who was the NFL MVP in 1999 and 2001. “It wasn’t that. It was extra simply lacking performs that he is made one million occasions earlier than.”
WHEN JACKSON LEFT the Week 4 recreation in Kansas Metropolis with a hamstring damage, he and the Ravens’ offense have been by no means the identical for the remainder of the season.
In Jackson’s first three begins, Baltimore was the highest-scoring workforce within the league, averaging 37 factors per recreation. After Jackson returned from his hamstring damage 5 weeks later, the Ravens scored fewer than 30 factors in every of Jackson’s 10 remaining begins, which was the longest single-season drought of his profession.
“Even coming again [from injury], I believe what usually will get discounted is you are out there to play, but it surely’s simply exhausting to be sharp while you’re not training and also you’re lacking time throughout the week,” mentioned Ryan, the present president of soccer for the Atlanta Falcons who was the NFL MVP in 2016. “And even when you’re [practicing], you are laboring to get by means of it. So I believe that makes it a bit of bit harder.”
Jackson endured the worst stoop of his profession in November and December, which coincided with a lowered quantity of apply time. For six straight weeks, he missed the primary apply of the week with a string of accidents (together with knee, ankle and toe). He additionally missed time with an sickness.
Over that span of six video games, Jackson averaged 177 yards passing, throwing three landing passes and 5 interceptions. Throughout this stretch, he did not report a landing in three straight video games for the primary time in his profession.
“He is had the flexibility previously to exit and have contemporary legs and do what he does, however ultimately it could actually catch as much as you,” Gannon mentioned. “Look, it is not simply that he is lacking apply time. It is the fellows round him which might be lacking these alternatives with him. It is the purple zone throws you are not getting. It is the two-minute photographs. It is the third-down packages that you just’re not getting as many reps with.”
This all led to Jackson’s most inaccurate season since his rookie 12 months in 2018. His precision move price, which is the proportion of move makes an attempt that hit targets in stride, was 48.7% in 2025. As compared, Jackson’s two highest precision move charges got here in 2019 (54.9%) and 2023 (56.1%), which have been his MVP seasons.
However Warner was hesitant to chalk up Jackson’s struggles to fewer apply reps. He mentioned he believes much less apply time should not considerably influence Jackson, who had sufficient familiarity with the sport plan and supporting forged (10 of 11 starters returned on offense final season).
“One missed apply day, particularly early within the week, is form of like, OK, you are going to have loads of days to make up for that and get again into the rhythm,” Warner mentioned. “So I do not assume that is one thing that I’d level to and say, ‘Oh, that is the rationale he is lacking these throws.'”
ONE POINT WHERE Ryan, Warner and Gannon all agreed: Nobody can put the entire blame on Jackson. It is a problem for any quarterback to carry out at a excessive degree when his supporting forged is faltering, particularly when it is the offensive line.
Gannon has a saying that, when nice quarterbacks get knocked round, they turn out to be good quarterbacks. And, when good quarterbacks get knocked round, they turn out to be common ones.
“My level is no person’s immune, and it is not simply the sacks,” Gannon mentioned. “It is the hits, the hurries, the knockdowns. Finally it could actually velocity you up. I do not care how robust a man you might be, it could actually impact your capability to sit down in there and belief the safety.”
In 2024, Jackson produced profession highs of 4,172 yards passing and 41 landing passes when he had the perfect move safety of his profession. He was sacked on solely 4.3% of his dropbacks (23 sacks on 538 dropbacks).
This previous season, Jackson had the worst move safety of his profession. He was sacked on 9.8% of his dropbacks, and he confronted a stress price of 37.1% (share of dropbacks the place the quarterback was sacked, beneath duress or hit), which was the second worst within the league in 2025.
“Oftentimes you must trick your self that no matter what occurred earlier than, you have to belief that persons are going to do their job and persons are going to select up the protections,” Ryan mentioned. “And so that you’re continually combating that. However to say it does not have an effect on you, it does. And the good ones discover methods to, even when the numbers are down and even when the sacks are up, they nonetheless discover a method to maintain their workforce within the recreation and provides themselves a possibility late within the recreation.”
After the season, Ravens common supervisor Eric DeCosta identified that the offensive line must be extra constant and “did not jell fairly as a lot this 12 months.” Baltimore has selections to make with the offensive line, the place Professional Bowl middle Tyler Linderbaum is a free agent and the workforce doubtless has to improve at each beginning guard spots.
“We are able to speak in regards to the high-flying groups and the groups that throw it all around the subject, however the perfect groups within the league proceed to be those that win up entrance and those that prioritize, ‘We’ll construct it this manner and that is the place we will have our success,'” Warner mentioned. “It nonetheless comes again to the groups that win within the trenches.”
WARNER REMEMBERS AN interview with Harbaugh numerous years in the past in regards to the dialogue between him and Jackson on the sideline throughout video games.
Jackson would usually inform Harbaugh, “Hey, Coach, I am simply taking part in ball. I am simply doing what I do.”
“That at all times caught in my thoughts, as a result of typically that is form of the character of some guys is simply form of like, ‘I am simply reacting to what I see and I am simply taking part in. I believe no matter I’ve to do, I am simply doing it. I am not overthinking something,'” Warner mentioned. “And perhaps that’s a side of the place it is at now after the damage is perhaps he’s overthinking it a bit of bit, perhaps he’s like, ‘I do not need to take off and run. I do not need to get harm or I do not need to put myself in hurt’s approach.'”
Essentially the most drastic change in Jackson’s recreation in 2025 was the deep decline in dashing makes an attempt. He carried the ball solely 5.2 occasions per recreation, three makes an attempt per recreation fewer than any earlier season.
By Jackson not operating as a lot, it created much less stress for opposing defenses and took a piece of manufacturing away from the Baltimore offense. Previous to final season, Jackson averaged 59.9 dashing yards per recreation. In 2025, he totaled lower than half of that per recreation (26.8).
“As you age, as you grow old, you notice your availability and with the ability to go week in and week out is sort of simply as vital as your capability to take off and go,” Ryan mentioned. “So I believe discovering that steadiness for the rest of his profession, that is going to be what they’ve to determine. However I simply do not assume stripping him of that, as a result of I believe that I’ve usually mentioned, I believed when he’s at his finest, he is most likely essentially the most tough participant within the league to game-plan for for defensive coordinators.”
Ryan added, “And I do assume while you take a bit of little bit of that away, it is one much less factor for a protection to account for and perhaps does not open up a few of the different issues that when he is rolling like that, it does.”
Former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken usually referred to as Jackson’s capability to run his “superpower.” In Monken’s first two seasons in Baltimore, he referred to as a median of 4.4 designed runs for Jackson. Final season, there have been a median of two designed runs per recreation.
Final season, Jackson selected to purchase extra time throwing the ball than taking off to run, scrambling 40 occasions for 213 yards. He was additionally not as explosive when he did run, failing to provide a run over 20 yards for the primary time in his profession.
“I believe the pure response could be, ‘Yeah, I believe it is sensible as a result of the older he will get, the much less he is going to have the ability to try this or the extra his physique’s going to interrupt down,” Warner mentioned.
WHEN JACKSON WON his first NFL MVP award in 2019, it appeared like a foregone conclusion that he would ultimately get to a Tremendous Bowl and win one. Seven years later, there are questions on whether or not Jackson will ever play on the sport’s greatest stage, particularly contemplating the Ravens’ observe report of postseason failures.
“He is on the quick observe to the Corridor of Fame for sure,” Warner mentioned. “But when he by no means performs his finest in that second and by no means will get to a Tremendous Bowl or will get to a few them, that shall be one thing that may at all times form of be there hanging over him.”
To achieve the Tremendous Bowl, Jackson’s predominant obstacles within the AFC was once beating the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Now, it is turning into more and more harder within the AFC with the emergence of Drake Maye and Bo Nix, who led the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos to the highest two seeds within the convention.
“I nonetheless assume he’ll have a possibility to win a Tremendous Bowl,” Ryan mentioned. “I simply assume he is that nice of a participant, but it surely’s getting crowded. That must be considered.”
One of many causes Ravens proprietor Steve Bisciotti fired Harbaugh was the workforce underperforming within the playoffs 12 months after 12 months. Baltimore has three postseason victories in Jackson’s eight seasons.
In recent times, Jackson has watched Flowers fumble close to the aim line within the 2023 AFC Championship Recreation and noticed tight finish Mark Andrews drop a 2-point conversion try within the 2024 divisional playoff recreation. However Jackson hasn’t lived as much as expectations both with 11 turnovers, that are essentially the most by any participant within the playoffs since 2018.
“I believe there’s solely a handful of quarterbacks within the NFL which have the flexibility to take over a recreation at this degree or put a workforce on their shoulders and carry them to the end line,” Gannon mentioned. “I consider Josh Allen, I consider Patrick Mahomes, I consider Lamar Jackson. There’s solely a handful, and he is certainly one of them.”
