Ravens' Lamar Jackson Receives Positive Reception for Opening Performance

The Baltimore Ravens exit Week 1 as one of the NFL's most embarrassed squads.

They had the chance to stun their rival Buffalo Bills as the underdog away-team, fully backing up all of the hype they spent the offseason soaking up. But with several chances to put the Buffalo Bills away, the Ravens' reputation for shrinking in the big moments reared its ugly head in the final four minutes, when they somehow blew a 15-point lead and the game itself in a surprise 41-40 defeat on Sunday Night Football.

The collapse required several rapid-fire mistakes from Baltimore's side for the Bills to capitalize on, with those disastrous final minutes overshadowing what once looked like a promising kickoff to a season full of contention hopes. The Ravens received overall-positive marks for their overall showing, as did star quarterback Lamar Jackson for another generally-strong performance. He posted 279 total yards on 14 of 19 passing, tossing a pair of touchdowns and running one in for himself.

Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski rewarded Jackson with an A- grade, an evaluation that clearly weights his full 60-minute report over his inability to pull offense out of thin air like Buffalo counterpart Josh Allen managed in the clutch.

"Quarterback Lamar Jackson was a huge reason why the Ravens looked so good to start, only to have the ball taken out of his hands once the team built what it believed to be a comfortable 15-point fourth-quarter lead," Sobleski wrote. During the Ravens' final three possessions—which resulted in a punt, fumble and punt—Jackson threw the ball only twice and those attempts came on obvious third-and-long situations."

Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson — Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) looks to pass during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

"As good as Jackson had been throughout, he wasn't placed in a position to put the game away. Instead, the Ravens went conservative and the approach cost them. 'You just got to finish the game,' Jackson said. 'It's not over until there is zero, zero, zero on the clock. And we found that out tonight.'"

The Ravens' choice to play it safe in passing up the chance to go forit on their final fourth down opportunity iced their fate with well over a minute remaining, plenty of time for Allen to march his team back into field goal territory and end the game on his terms. Jackson can't be faulted for defensive slip-ups, play-calling or Henry's fumble, and it shows in Sobleski's grading scale.

Allen still out-ranked Jackson on the list, though, receiving the elusive A+++. That exclusive triple-plus is a direct result of his answering the moment in the highest-stakes matchup of the weekend, where he backed up his recent MVP win and playoff win directly over Jackson with another instance of his looking like the best quarterback in the NFL.

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