BALTIMORE — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was so enraged after being intercepted in the end zone in the fourth quarter that he ripped his helmet off with both hands and threw it to the ground as he walked toward the sideline.
Another promising season ended with a bang in the playoffs for the consensus NFL MVP.
Jackson and the AFC’s top-seeded Ravens struggled against the passing game and committed three turnovers in a 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. The loss dropped Jackson’s postseason record to 2-4.
“I’m not frustrated at all,” Jackson said. “I’m angry about the loss. We were one game away from the Super Bowl. We’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this and we didn’t get it. But I feel like our team, we’re going to build this offseason and we’re going to correct , get better and try to be in this position again – but on the other side of a win.”
Jackson looked nearly unstoppable in the Ravens’ first home AFC Championship game in their 28-year history. In his past seven starts, including last week’s division win, Jackson has led Baltimore with an average of 33.9 points per game.
Then, in Jackson’s first conference championship game appearance, he didn’t look like one of the top players in the game and the Ravens tied a season low in points. Baltimore became the first team in 20 years to lose in the conference championship game when holding its opponent to less than 17 points.
“We’re angry,” Jackson said. “Offensively, we didn’t put anything on the board. We scored once. That’s not like us. We took the ball down the field. That’s cool. But we’ve got to put something on the board. But I feel like my The team was just angry, not frustrated, we were just angry. We know how hard we worked to get here.
Jackson set career highs with 3,678 yards passing and a 67.2 percent completion rate, becoming the favorite to win his second NFL MVP award. The Ravens are considered the most dominant team in the NFL this season, going 6-0 and defeating teams that entered the week with at least three games above .500, beating them by an average of 26.2 points .
But on Sunday, Jackson made the same mistake he had made in the previous playoffs. In his four playoff losses, he is now averaging 10.5 points per game with a total of four touchdowns and eight turnovers.
There are moments that define you, and this is just one moment in his career,” Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “Great players go through tough times and I don’t think that will stop him from achieving his ultimate goal. If anything, he will work harder.”
Beckham added: “He wanted it so bad. I’ve never seen anyone so focused and freewheeling and in that era I just felt it was his time. Like I said, sometimes things happen in life , but it didn’t happen.” Don’t go the way we planned, it’s just a matter of what you do from here. “
Jackson worked hard to extend the break. On third down, he went 1-for-6 for 7 yards and two sacks. Jackson also had issues with the Chiefs’ pass rush. His pass completion rate on blitzes was a season-low 41%.
I told him to stand up,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s had a great season and he played with a lot of heart today. He fought, he went out there and gave everything he had. So I don’t think it’s going to let me down.”
Jackson has been committed to leading the Ravens to a championship for years. When he was drafted by Baltimore in 2018, he said, “They’re going to make me win a Super Bowl. Believe in that.”
But while Jackson led Baltimore to the playoffs in four seasons, including two No. 1 seeds, Jackson failed to lead the Ravens to the Super Bowl.
“Honestly, what hurts me the most is I want him to get the recognition he deserves,” Ravens linebacker Patrick Quinn said. “It’s a team sport, but honestly, that guy was the main player I played for. It’s an opportunity for him to be able to write something down and move on to the next thing.
“That’s why it hurts, because you want to see guys like that, teammates that you love and care about, get what they deserve, and that didn’t happen today.”
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