Video: Lamar Jackson Has A Message for His Detractors
Lamar Jackson has heard the criticism.
He's had detractors since he took over as the Ravens starting quarterback midway through the 2018 season.
In response, Jackson has made those critics looks foolish with his performance.
“I never tried to defend myself before. I really don’t care what they say," Jackson said. "My guys know, week in, week out, we’re practicing [and] we see it. I know if I wasn’t doing my job [outside linebacker Matthew] Judon would tell me. He’s on the edge. I don’t really care what the doubters say.”
The second-year quarterback had another dominant performance in a 41-7 victory over the Houston Texans in Week 11. He completed 17 of 24 pass attempts for 222 yards with four touchdowns (139.2 passer rating).
Jackson is the only quarterback in Ravens single-season history with at least four touchdown passes in multiple games. He had five TDs in Week 1 at Miami.
Midway through the game against Houston, Jackson completed 13 straight passes, the fourth-longest streak in Ravens history.
Jackson also had 9 carries for 86 yards, including a 39-yard run where he made several defenders miss in the open field. Baltimore is now 10-0 when Jackson rushes for at least 70 yards in a game.
Jackson (1,483) also surpassed Cam Newton (1,447 yards) for the most rushing yards by a quarterback through the first two seasons of a career in NFL history.
This past week, Jackson padded his resume for league MVP by winning his second straight AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors and third overall this season.
Overall, Jackson has thrown for 2,036 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also run for a team-high 702 yards with six touchdowns.
That means Jackson is on pace to throw for more than 3,600 yards and run for more than 1,200 yards this season, clearly MVP numbers.
Maybe that will silence the critics once and for all.
Not that Jackson is listening.
“Like I said before, that’s their opinion," Jackson said. "Those guys have their own opinion. Some of them just listen to other people. I really don’t care what they say, like I said before. The Ravens trusted me to come in here and [be] their quarterback. I appreciate that from [owner] Mr. Steve [Bisciotti], coach [John] Harbaugh, and I’ve just got to own up to it.”
