Hollywood Brown: Ravens Preparing for Their 'Best Offseason,' Ready to Get Back to Work
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens players described Lamar Jackson as being "pissed off" and "upset" after being knocked out of the playoffs by the Buffalo Bills.
Jackon was not cleared to speak to the media after suffering a concussion in the third quarter of the 17-3 loss.
However, several of his teammates spoke to Jackson after the game and expect him to return with even more fire next season.
"He was pissed off that we didn’t get the win, we didn’t do the things we needed to execute and get it done – that’s the entire group; the offensive line, the running backs, the quarterbacks," left guard Bradley Bozeman said. "The whole offense, we didn’t do the things we needed to do last night to get the win. It’s very unfortunate. We practiced all week and prepared and got ready. We just didn’t execute and didn’t get it done.
"Lamar, I think he’s good. We had a good conversation last night. We’re just going to move forward and see what happens. We can’t change the past. And we’re just going to continue to build on what we’ve done in the past and just continue to get better every week.”
Jackson managed just 34 yards rushing in the loss to Buffalo in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs. He completed 14 of 24 pass attempts for 162 yards and was forced to leave the game late in the third quarter with a concussion after center Patrick Mekari sailed a snap toward the end zone.
Jackson was under pressure for most of the game and threw an interception on a third and goal to Taron Johnson, who ran 101 yards for the score and sealed the victory for the Bills.
Ravens wide receiver Hollywood Brown is already focused on next season and plans to work with Jackson to improve the team's passing game, which was ranked dead last in the NFL. Baltimore did manage the league's No, 1 ground attack but Brown said the team needs more balance on offense.
"Whenever you’re the No. 1 rushing and the [No. 32] passing [offense], that’s not right," Brown said. "That’s not balanced. So, we’ve got to find a way to balance our game. Even with our great rushing attack, we’ve got to be able to throw the ball, we’ve got to be able to move the ball through the air, and that’s something that we’re going to continue to work on and continue to try to implement into the offense more.
"I know this for a fact; this offseason is going to be, probably, the best offseason, and we’re going to go to work. And we’re going to come back motivated and ready to go.”
