Ravens and Lamar Jackson enter playoffs with chance for redemption: ‘It’s about getting what we’re chasing’

Lamar Jackson already has a spot picked out in his house for a Super Bowl trophy.

“Absolutely,” the Ravens quarterback told The Baltimore Sun, his eyebrows furrowing and a wry smile stretching across his face. “I got that planned out.”

He’s not ready to reveal the plan yet. He does not want his thoughts to get too far into the future because it’s a futile exercise. After all, he’s been here before.

Four years ago, Baltimore finished the regular season 14-2, was the top seed in the AFC and had home-field advantage through the conference championship game. Jackson was the unanimous choice to be named NFL Most Valuable Player that season, with the award announced the day before the Super Bowl. But the Ravens never got that far in the postseason, getting stunned at home by the Tennessee Titans, 28-12, in a divisional-round game in which Jackson was intercepted twice and fumbled once. Afterward, he said Baltimore beat itself and that he made a lot of mistakes but noted that it was just his second year in the league.

Translation: He’d learn from his errors, and there would be other opportunities.

After another playoff exit in the 2020 season and two injury-marred years that followed, the Ravens are finally on the precipice of the promise that Jackson made the night Baltimore drafted him in 2018. At 13-4 after the regular season, they are the No. 1 seed in the AFC, have home-field advantage and Jackson is the presumptive MVP.

But this time is different. Jackson’s game and attention to detail, in the words of teammates, have “matured,” he has a dynamic offensive system at his fingertips and there is significantly more talent surrounding him than he had the last time Baltimore was in this position.

“I don’t really get bothered by much [in my career] and I wouldn’t say I’ve had a lowest point, but I’ve had disappointments,” Jackson told The Sun. “Not finishing the season how we wanted, getting that first-round bye [in 2019] then losing before the AFC championship, that’s disappointing. We have a special team and hopefully we make it happen this year.”

First, there is the offensive scheme under new coordinator Todd Monken, who helped lead Georgia to national championships each of the previous two seasons.

In addition to more spread formations and an up-tempo pace, the Ravens have emphasized getting the ball out of Jackson’s hands quicker and into those of the playmakers around him. Monken has also empowered the quarterback in play-calling, both in planning and at the line of scrimmage. That has allowed Jackson to excel within the framework of what he sees on the field as it is taking place and adjust accordingly.

The result has been career highs in passing yards (3,678) and completion percentage (.672), along with 24 touchdown passes and dominant victories over the playoff-bound San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions, among others.

“I think we all grow, we evolve [and] circumstances change,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We find ourself in a different place, and I’ve always admired Lamar for every part of what he’s doing. He’s always done his best and he’s doing his best right now.

“I would say this: He’s an A-plus leader right now. He’s been glue for the guys, and it’s been great to see.”

Of course, it helps to have players who can catch the ball in the first place. After Ravens wide receivers were last in the NFL in yards per game three of the previous four years and last in total yards in 2022, general manager Eric DeCosta made upgrading the position a priority in the offseason.

Baltimore used its first-round draft pick on Zay Flowers and signed free agents Odell Beckham Jr., a three-time Pro Bowl selection, and veteran Nelson Agholor, both of whom have also won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. The additions, along with incumbent receiver Rashod Bateman, a 2021 first-round pick, have given Jackson easily the best pass-catching corps he’s ever had.

Flowers has been one of the best rookie receivers in the league and leads the team in yards and receptions. Beckham has flashed the big play and one-handed capabilities that made him famous earlier in his career with the New York Giants. Agholor has made several clutch grabs, and like Beckham has imparted his knowledge to the younger receivers.

It’s worked both ways with Jackson, too.

“The only way for someone to feel comfortable [with a quarterback] fully is to see it come through in a game,” Beckham told The Sun. “I’ve started to understand what he’s thinking, when he’s thinking so I know where he wants me to be and how he wants me to be.”

Added Agholor: “There’s a brotherhood here that is second to none thus far. It’s really fun in terms of the guys we’ve assembled. We respect each other, feed off each other.”

Still, there has been criticism. About Jackson’s accuracy at times, particularly on deep passes. About his fumbling, something he did seven times in the first five games this season. About his decision-making. And, perhaps most notably, about a 1-3 career playoff record that includes five interceptions and five fumbles.

At times, the 27-year-old quarterback has hit back on social media. After the Ravens blew a 27-20 lead with just over two minutes remaining in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars late last season, he took profane umbrage with one Twitter comment about his then-ongoing contract dispute.

Jackson says his competitiveness sometimes spills over into his emotions, but he maintains that the criticism doesn’t bother him.

“My rookie year was my first time being in the playoffs and people already had us doubted,” he told The Sun. “My second season, the Titans just had our number. We had a lot of drops, unfortunate things like that happened when we didn’t need them to. Third year, we won a game and lost in Buffalo. The past two years, I was hurt.

“Hopefully this year it’ll be something different.”

It is much different. Including Jackson, only nine players from that 2019 team are still on the Ravens’ active roster. But he is reluctant to say one is better than the other.

“Different guys bring different things to the table,” Jackson told The Sun. “These guys bring something different [than them]. Hopefully we go further than those other years.”

Jackson says he’s different, too.

“I always say maturity,” he told The Sun. “As I get older, the more things I learn.”

He’s also enjoying how he has evolved, and his message since training camp has been singular: win a Super Bowl in Baltimore.

“It’s been fun,” Jackson told The Sun. “But we gotta stay locked in. It’s not about having fun. It’s about getting what we’re chasing.”