The stage was set for Lamar Jackson and Baltimore to seize this opportunity and knock off Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City. It seemed like a well-written script to get over the hump. Homefield advantage with the fans in a frenzy, Ravens legends Ray Lewis and Ed Reed on hand as well. For the Flock, it was simple: play your brand of football and give the Chiefs a season to forget. It was anything short of a thriller for Baltimore as they struggled to find wingspan flying over Kansas City.
A trademark surgical touchdown drive gave the Chiefs a 7-0 lead on their first possession. It was time for Lamar to try to respond in the battle of which quarterback would be victorious. Baltimore would have their lone touchdown drive and never see the endzone afterwards. What have we said as football fans about Lamar Jackson? Can he get past the elite teams with supremely talented quarterbacks? All of this played in hindsight and left little to be desired.
Great as Lamar is, today’s game was a reminder there’s more work to be done. A team who had the best offense, defense, everything you’d wanted in this magnitude failed to fly higher. Being the face of your franchise and not able to win big in the postseason comes with media scrutiny. We’ve heard “seeding doesn’t matter” and this proves to be true. Baltimore laid an egg in the most important game of their season. It hatched early and they couldn’t rid the residue left on the field.
Lamar Jackson needed to be flawless in defeating the Chiefs; but the team couldn’t get their wings open wide enough to take flight. The perfect opportunity to eliminate the defending champs was the goal. You got Mahomes’d; with help from Travis Kelce and a blitz-happy defense who dared Lamar to win it by himself. What you do in the regular season doesn’t matter; you become legendary in the postseason.
Lamar has improved his deficiencies since his rookie year of 2018. Passing accuracy was a concern coming out of Louisville; this year alone, a 67.2% completion percentage. Making it the 6th best of all quarterbacks. But today, his stats are far from his regular season numbers: 20/37 passes (54.1%) for 272 yards. Throwing for only 67 yards through three quarters is abysmal for a quarterback who relies on his legs and arm to move the sticks.
Kansas City had Lamar in a twilight zone as he couldn’t outduel Patrick Mahomes. Holding on to the ball five seconds too long felt like eternity and forced Baltimore to abandon the run game all together. Four sacks given up by the Ravens offensive line, who’d been strong through the season. A “Dak Prescott” throw into triple coverage was a backbreaker to tight end Isaiah Likely proved to be costly. Down 17-7 felt like Baltimore had waved the flag as feathers were getting plucked left and right all over the field. Kansas City displayed and flexed their championship pedigree. When pressure mounted on the Ravens, pipes busted. In this case, feathers were stuck together with no room to flap.
When asked after if he tried to do too much, he pushed back on this assessment: “No, we’re trying to win. I don’t think you’re doing too much when you’re trying to win out there. You thought so?” Now, being cordial and professional after a loss goes a long way. A leader who was ready to take the heat in explaining his team’s playoff disappointment. Standing at the podium and handling it level-headed without getting his emotions out of control.
It's these types of performances which can’t occur from any high paid player, especially at quarterback. A sense of urgency was presented, but overthinking and not being able to adjust came with a price. What made you successful during the regular season stays there; the postseason is higher stakes. Baltimore easily could’ve taken this game and ran wild; but Kansas City had other intentions.
Baltimore will go into the offseason with questions surrounding what needs to be done in reaching the Super Bowl. Everything was in place to accomplish this, but when the road team who’d never played a playoff game away from home stands in your way, every possession matters. No excuses from the offense. The Ravens defense did everything possible to keep Kansas City from scoring 30 points and held them to 17. This falls on the offense for not adjusting and cashing in points to give yourself a chance to force Kansas City into its deck of cards.
Lamar Jackson may win the 2023 NFL MVP; but it doesn’t matter when your team was eliminated by the defending champs on your home field. There’s going to be a lot of rumblings as Baltimore will try to retool their roster. Coordinators Todd Monken and Mike McDonald are likely getting interviews from remaining coaching vacancies in Seattle and Washington. If this was the only opportunity Lamar and Baltimore had in defeating the Chiefs, it was wasted. There’s no shortcuts to a Super Bowl; only the strongest are left standing.
Lamar will look back on this game and use it as motivation for 2024. The road and salary cap only gets tougher as more guys will be due for new contracts. A window to win closes very fast and Baltimore will have a difficult time surrounding their franchise QB with supreme talent to combat Kansas City. The AFC belongs to Kansas City until someone knocks them off. With the AFC getting stronger, Baltimore’s quest for a title will come with impatience.
Lamar’s peers in Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, CJ Stroud, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson, and Anthony Richardson will be out to challenge Lamar for a spot as the league’s best young quarterback. For now, Lamar must figure out a way to knock off Patrick Mahomes. Until then, the Ravens will fly back to the nest and rest in what could’ve been. No more excuses for Lamar Jackson beyond 2024.
Stai tuned.
