Lamar Jackson’s legacy is going to forever be “great player who makes critical mistakes to come up short in the playoffs” until he changes it.
But unfortunately for Jackson and the Ravens, he will now have to wait another year before he’s able change that perception following Baltimore’s 27-25 loss to the Bills on Sunday.
Despite a valiant effort in the fourth quarter, the Ravens’ comeback attempt failed and Jackson’s playoff record dropped to 3-5.
Overall, Jackson’s numbers from the game look mostly fine. He completed 18-of-25, threw for 254 yards, ran for 39 more and did throw a pair of touchdown passes, including one in the final minutes of the game. However, in addition to those positive numbers, he also did what he tends to do in big playoff games: surrender critical turnovers.
Before Jackson started playing like an MVP — most expect him to claim his third career MVP — he opened the game making mistakes that came back to haunt Baltimore in the game and will likely stay in its mind throughout the entire offseason.
Jackson was responsible for two of the Ravens’ three turnovers, one as an interception and the other as a fumble. Buffalo would capitalize and the turnovers would prove to be the difference in a close game between evenly matched teams.
Jackson said as much to the media after the game.
“Turnovers play a factor,” said Jackson. “That’s why we lost the game.”
So another division title for the Ravens and possible MVP for Jackson results in a failing to reach the Super Bowl again, this time failing to even get to the AFC Championship game.
This most recent loss is just the latest example of why Jackson’s legacy, one that will undoubtedly lead to him being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will always carry a cloud over it.
Phenomenal play during the regular season and then making mistakes in the playoffs has become a trend for Jackson.
In eight career playoff games, Jackson has a 60.6 completion percentage, although that includes completing only 48.3% and 52.5% of his passes in his first two playoff games, respectively. He has 1,753 passing yards and 10 touchdown passes, but he also has thrown seven picks and lost four fumbles.
So as he now has a losing playoff record at 3-5, Jackson has produced almost as many total turnovers (11) as he has combined touchdowns (13) in the postseason.
Obviously, the Ravens wouldn’t be in position to consistently be in the playoffs without Jackson’s heroics and elite level play. Some will even blame Mark Andrews even more than Jackson for Sunday’s loss. Andrews fumbled Baltimore’s other turnover and then dropped what would’ve been a game tying wide open catch for two points following a late touchdown drive.
Should Andrews have made that catch? Absolutely. But it’s not fair to him to look at only that moment and then absolve Jackson for his first half shortcomings. Take Jackson’s two turnovers away and Baltimore isn’t in a situation that required heroics just to get the game to overtime.
Jackson’s playoff failures don’t take away from his MVPs, his 4,172 passing yards and his 45 total touchdowns from the 2024 regular season or means he’s not a great player, but they are part of his legacy, like it or not.
