Lamar Jackson fled in the record book against the Jets.
Lamar Jackson certainly sealed the NFL MVP award on Thursday night, throwing for five touchdowns in another effective performance, as the Baltimore Ravens won 42–21 over the New York Jets. The win clinched the AFC North Division title for the Rens (12-2) for the second consecutive year, the first time Baltimore has achieved this since the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Ravens need a loss to either the Kansas City Chiefs or the New England Patriots to gain a first-round by-election and are far from closing home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
Jackson was once again brilliant, his third five-pass touchdown game this season, leading the NFL. He also leads the league with 33 passing touchdowns and has thrown just six interceptions. In one night Jackson broke the record for quarterback (1,106), the fastest rushing of the season, Michael Vick, completing 15 of 23 passes for 212 yards, five touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 134.4 passer rating. Jackson had eight carries for 86 yards as the Rance offense had 384 yards on offense when Jackson was inside, averaging 7.7 yards per carry.
Jackson threw his touchdown pass to five different receivers, showing a balanced Ravens offense that had 212 passing yards and 172 rising yards while he was in the game. Seth Roberts led the Rains with three catches for 66 yards and a score, while Mark Andrews set a franchise record for receiving tight end touchdowns in a season with eight. Mark Ingram had 13 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown, while also having one touchdown in the win. He finished with 430 total yards with 218 coming on the field.
The Jets (5-9) were up for one half in this game, but turnovers and miscerage allowed the Ravens a close game to give it a blow. Sam Darnold had one interception and one fumble, but he threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns – both went to Jamison Crowder, who finished with six catches for 90 yards. Le’Vonne Bell had a season-high 21 carries for 87 yards, his best game with the Jets.
Why did the Ravens win?
Jackson was major again, a matchup nightmare for any defense in the NFL. This week he was playing with a bang quad on a three-day rest, but still led by three touchdowns on his first three possessions. Jackson had rushed for 64 yards in that span and threw for two touchdowns with no answer from the Jets. The MVP frontrunner was even better in the second half, throwing for three touchdowns as he finished the game with 9.2 yards per pass attempt. New York had no answer for Jackson, who used his hands and feet to get an early 21-7 lead, 6 for 7 from 55 yards and two touchdowns in the first three touchdowns. Jackson had an answer for everything the Jets threw at him – especially in the early going.
Why did the Jets lose?
Jeves had an outstanding par against the Ravens run offense, entering the game in the NFL at an average of 200.5 rising yards and 5.5 yards per carry. New York’s defense allowed 3.0 yards per game and 78.8 rushing in the game. All the Ravens had 34 carries for 218 yards, an average of 6.1 yards per carry – fully controlling Scrimage’s line against the Jets’ front seven. When Jackson was in the game, the Ravens had 26 carries for 172 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. The Ravens had three runs of 20-plus yards on their first three possessions – the Jets allowed only three 20-plus yard runs in all seasons prior to this game. Baltimore won the chess battle with New York, resulting in a bad defeat for the Jets.
Points of turning
In the third quarter the Jets were still away from the Ravens in the third quarter, trailing 21-7 with the ball and allowing another score to lose. Instead, Darnold created a disaster that kept Baltimore away from the game. On third-and-8 from the Jets’ 35-yard line, Darnold stepped back to go but never saw Ravens linebacker Tyce Bowser come off the edge and blow the tight end for an easy sack.
Darnold never made a complete catch of the ball and faltered as he went down. Jihad Ward recovered the ball at the Jets’ 24-yard line, New York’s second turnover of the night. Rance made two plays later as Jackson was beaten 28–7 by Marquise Brown for a 24–7 touchdown, a three-point win that Rance needed to remove the Jets.
Game play
Jackson decided to take matters into his own hands as the Ravens faced a fourth-and-1 at the 29-yard line with a 28-7 lead. Jackson signaled the Ravens to stay on the field as they went for a bold decision to go down first. Jackson rolled to his right and bought enough time to find Andrews, gaining 36 yards as Jackson threw the pass on the run.
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