Ravens Champ Shannon Sharpe: Hold Lamar Jackson Accountable
Shannon Sharpe has hardly been hesitant to call out the modern NFL's star quarterbacks ... and even those repping his former employers aren't exempt.
Dour talking points are set to follow Lamar Jackson this offseason. The Baltimore Ravens' primary thrower will have plenty of time to polish his second league MVP award, but a stagnant outing against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game will cause many to wonder if he's capable of lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
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Count Sharpe among them, as the Hall of Fame tight end-turned-media personality believes more of the Ravens' postseason blame needs to be borne by Jackson.
“Lamar won his second MVP. But at what point in time do we start holding him accountable and saying that’s underachieving?” Sharpe asked Chad Johnson on their web series "Nightcap." "You had the best defense, you had the best rushing attack, you had the best set of receivers that you've had since you've been in Baltimore."
Sharpe, one of the Ravens' original champions from the 2000-01 group that won Super Bowl XXXV, hinted that Jackson was incapable of "big game hunting" unlike Patrick Mahomes, the newly-reinstated championship MVP. Though the Baltimore defense held Mahomes in relative check during their postseason bout with the champion Chiefs (241 yards and a score), Jackson was unable to generate any offensive momentum in a 17-10 defeat.
Those struggles became particularly glaring when the Ravens more or less abandoned their run game, limiting Gus Edwards and Justice Hill to three carries each.
Jackson has firmly established himself as one of the NFL's elite passers but redemption is at least a year away. The no-show in the conference title game opened the door to uncomfortable questions about Jackson's postseason prowess ... or lack thereof. Since Jackson's NFL entry in 2018, his 75.7 passer rating is second-worst among the 14 quarterbacks that have appeared in at least five playoff games.
