Ravens Plan to Talk to NFL About Questionable Hits on Lamar Jackson

Baltimore took some questionable tackles against Broncos

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson took several questionable hits against the Denver Broncos, that appeared to be too high, too low or even late.

Coach John Harbaugh said the team will talk to the league office about the situation.

“We’ll send that in. We do that every week," Harbaugh said. "We’ve sent those in before. We’ve gotten those back that sometimes, they should be called, and sometimes, they shouldn’t. But we’ll be sending those in again. There were a couple of them in there that we’ll ask about.”

At one point, Broncos nose tackle Mike Purcell came flying in late and hit Jackson from the back at his knees (video above). Jackson expected a penalty. 

"I got hit so I'm thinking there's a flag," Jackson said. "I didn't even care about the ball in the air at that time because I got hit as soon as I threw the ball so I'm looking for the flag."

Jackson has been hit 52 times, the most of any quarterback in the league, and has been sacked 11 times, which is tied for sixth. Jackson's style of play does not open him to take more abuse from defenders, but Harbaugh said that should not factor into the calls. 

“I think all the quarterbacks should be treated the same," Harbaugh said. "I don’t think any quarterback should be judged any differently in terms of how they’re protected, that’s for sure.”

"I feel a responsibility to do everything I can to protect our players when it’s necessary. It doesn’t happen a lot, but when it happens, you say something.”

Jackson hasn't been given a roughing the passer penalty since December 2019

Jackson did manage to do a solid job avoiding several hits by getting out of bounds or sliding. He managed to come out of the game injury-free after dealing with a back issue earlier in the week.  

“I thought he did a good job of it," Harbaugh said. "He was getting down. He was running out of bounds. But when you’re in the pocket, there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself – the rules are what protect quarterbacks in the pocket.”