Lamar Jackson Thanks Ref Who Called Rare Roughing-the-Passer Penalty Against Him
He finally got one
Lamar Jackson’s big night Monday proved everyone who says he isn’t a pocket passer wrong.
Jackson completed a ridiculous 37 of 43 passes for 442 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, becoming the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 400 yards while completing at least 85% of his passes. He also had 14 carries for 62 yards. (That makes him the first player in NFL history with 400 passing yards, four touchdown passes, no interceptions and 50 rushing yards in the same game.) Take away the five yards he lost on two sacks and Jackson accounted for a whopping 499 all-purpose yards, nearly all of the 523 yards the Ravens gained.
And there was one more thing that made Jackson’s night memorable. In the middle of the third quarter, Colts linebacker Darius Leonard was called for roughing the passer, the first time since 2019 that Jackson had drawn a roughing call.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Jackson gave a shout-out to the ref who threw the flag.
“Mr. Clark, I appreciate that call,” Jackson said, referring to referee Land Clark. “I remember his name. That was a pretty dope call. And it was fair, too, because he hit me in the face. It wasn’t like it was no b.s. call. But it was dope to get one.”
Informed that it was the first roughing call to go his way since 2019, Jackson said, “That’s crazy. But like I said, it was fair. I’m glad I got the call, too. It’s all good.”
The last time Jackson had benefited from a roughing call was in Week 16 of the 2019 season when the Browns’ Sheldon Richardson drew the flag. He had dropped back more than 600 times between that call and the penalty Monday. Since taking over as Baltimore’s starter in '18, Jackson had drawn only seven roughing calls before Monday’s, prompting the Ravens to send video to the league of what it thought were missed calls against Jackson, according to ESPN.
Games like Monday’s will go a long way toward changing fans’ perception of Jackson’s abilities as a pocket passer. Now he just needs the people wearing stripes to catch up.
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