'Lemarvelous!' OBJ Offers Lamar Jackson Passing Inspiration For Ravens Redemption
Even if he doesn't stick around for it, Odell Beckham Jr. has taken a passing interest in Lamar Jackson's redemption tale with the Baltimore Ravens.
Jackson is under fire for his relatively lackluster performance in the AFC Championship Game, as the MVP candidate played like anything but in the 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While Beckham was equally quiet, he at least has a Super Bowl ring to hold him over in an uncertain future.
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As Jackson seeks his own brand of hardware, Beckham offered two sources of inspiration on "Punch Line," the podcast hosted by fellow Raven Marlon Humphrey.
"Matthew Stafford ... if someone were to tell you to throw a spiral and be like, 'oh this is what a spiral looks like,' and you didn't know football ... Matthew Stafford ... he's been doing this," Beckham remarked, describing his favorite quarterback among the illustrious group of passers that he has worked with.
Stafford and Beckham collaborated on the Los Angeles Rams triumph in Super Bowl LVI, uniting on the first touchdown of a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Like Jackson, Stafford had often been accused of being a talented quarterback who would up short when it mattered most. He silenced those rumors and then some with three touchdown throws, including the winner to Cooper Kupp in the dying stages.
Beckham believes that Stafford could've been on a similar pace as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is set to play for his third Super Bowl triumph in four seasons come next Sunday evening against San Francisco.
Whereas Mahomes lucked into a strong offensive situation with the Chiefs, one that included ongoing collaborator Travis Kelce at tight end, Stafford endured plenty of growing pains that stemmed from working with a Detroit Lions group hardly removed from an imperfect 16-loss season that gave them the right to draft him first overall in 2009.
Whereas the most sensationalist of observers could label Beckham's comments as critical of Jackson, he quickly clarified to Humphrey that he very much cherished his year under the sixth-year man's offensive oversight.
"I love Lamar, Mr. MVP, Lemarvelous, two-time MVP ... I'll put it out there right now," Beckham firmly declared, already putting the 2023 title in Jackson's possession. "Never in my life seen anything like it."
Is "it" enough for Beckham to sign on for another year-plus in Charm City? Time will tell.
