If the Baltimore Ravens are going to take the next step this season, it will be in large part because Lamar Jackson takes his own step forward as a leader.
And while Jackson and the Ravens were on the crushing end of a last-second Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the two-time MVP showcased his leadership skills after the game. In particular, the way Jackson reacted to running back Derrick Henry’s costly late-game fumble that aided Buffalo’s comeback is an encouraging sign in Jackson’s progression.
“I told (Henry), ‘Let that go, man,’” Jackson told reporters after the game. “He’s (already) did enough for us. He scored like an 80-yard or 50-yard (touchdown) one time, (and he) popped another one. He was just going off, but things happen. Unfortunately, it just happened at the wrong time. I’m not going to knock him for that. Shoot, I fumbled in the playoffs. It is what it is.”
Ravens’ Late-Game Collapse Overshadows Monster Performances
In some ways, the Ravens’ Week 1 showing vs. Buffalo was emblematic of the team’s bigger-picture performance in the last four or five seasons. For most of the evening, Baltimore was downright dominant. Jackson threw for more than 200 yards with two touchdown passes and rushed for 70 more yards and another score on the ground. Henry ran for 169 yards and a pair of his own touchdowns, all of which helped the Ravens build a 40-25 lead.
When the chips were down, though, Henry fumbled at the worst possible time. And even when the Ravens got another chance to ice the game, they went three-and-out. Despite scoring 40 points against an elite Bills team, Baltimore’s defense couldn’t make it stand up, especially with the game on the line.
For a team that has been dominant in the regular season only to let it slip away in the playoffs, this season opener felt oddly familiar for Jackson and company, especially with how last season ended in Buffalo, too.
“I feel like crazy things happen throughout the league, not just (in) Buffalo,” Jackson added. “We have mishaps, and I feel like every year I’ve been in the league, we’ve had weird things happen. Even back in M&T Bank Stadium, we’ve had weird things happen. We’ve been up, and something weird happened. That’s part of the game.”
Jackson’s Postgame Message to Jackson Slight Silver Lining?
If you’re a Ravens fan, Jackson’s off-field performance is both good and bad. He made headlines for the wrong reasons for an altercation with a fan, an incident for which he felt the need to apologize after the game, saying his emotions got the best of him.
But his message to Henry is the sort of long-term leadership the Ravens hope they can build on. Jackson taking on a more vocal role in the offense and Baltimore’s entire operation was a key storyline during training camp.
Clearly, he’s trying to live up to that responsibility, but he and the team will also have to find a way to make sure it helps clean things up on the field, too.
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