Ravens' Lamar Jackson Has Career-Best Playoff Performance

Who says Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson can't excel in the playoffs?

Jon Alfano | Jan 13, 2025

Jan 11, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) warms up before an AFC wild card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

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Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has heard all the noise surrounding him, particularly concerning his performance in the postseason.

Through his first six playoff games, Jackson had a 2-4 record with some pretty pedestrian stats, especially by his incredibly-high standards. The Ravens' struggles in the postseason weren't entirely his fault, but as the face of the franchise, he took much of the blame.

With more pressure on him this postseason than ever before, Jackson delivered one of the best playoff performances of his career. in Saturday night's Wild Card Round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 81 yards to open up a dominant team rushing performance.

How good was Jackson? Pro Football Focus awarded him a 92.9 grade, his highest in a playoff game in his career. His previous career-best was an 83.9 grade, which he earned in last year's Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans.

Considering Jackson's focus heading into this game, perhaps it's no surprise he played so well.

"I'm not going to lie; I was eager throughout the whole week to hurry up and become Saturday, but when the day came, I was just cool throughout the day," Jackson told reporters post-game. "I didn't want to get on the phone. I didn't want to talk. My mom called me. I said, 'I don't want to talk. No disrespect – never disrespect – but I don't want to talk. I'm just ready for the game. Let me get to the game. I don't want to play around or smile.' No, it was just that type of thing, and that's what it's going to be each and every time."

Sure, Jackson has put up better stats before, but he did exactly what he needed to and then some in this game, and that's what truly matters.

Of course, Jackson's job is far from complete. The only way he'll ever truly silence the doubters is by winning a Super Bowl, and with this being the Ravens' best chance to do so, they know they have to be at their best the rest of the way.

"It means we need to do that each and every time – great preparation, great practicing. Guys just locked in. It's win-or-go-home mentality, and our guys are just showing that, each and every down. It's one play at a time. Things didn't go our way all the time out there. We got stopped [and] had penalties. We lost yards, like five or 10 yards sometimes, but our guys just stayed with it, and that's what happens in playoff games. We have to just stay locked in."

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Published Jan 13, 2025

JON ALFANO