Marquise Brown says this offseason will be Lamar Jackson’s best originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Lamar Jackson’s season ended in a manner no one thought it would.
Not only was he somewhere in the Ravens’ locker room at Bills Stadium after suffering a concussion, he was far away from the field as the final seconds ticked off the Ravens’ season in a 17-3 loss to Buffalo in the AFC Divisional Round.
The attention quickly turned to Jackson after the game was over, as his teammates checked on the league’s MVP from 2019 before some goodbyes and a departure into a long offseason.
“We had a long talk,” wide receiver Marquise Brown said. “I know this for a fact, that this offseason probably going to be the best offseason and we’re going to go to work and come back motivated and ready to go.”
Every Ravens’ player who was asked about Jackson’s status said he was feeling fine as it relates to his injury, but was upset, naturally, about the end of another season. It was the third straight season the Ravens lost in the playoffs without scoring more than 17 points in a game.Jackson, who is now 1-3 as a playoff starter, has led offenses that scored 17, 12, 20 and 17 points in four playoff games. Narratives have already started to evolve about Jackson’s performances in the playoffs.
Saturday’s loss, however, was certainly not on Jackson alone, as the entire offense struggled. Notably, the passing game couldn’t get off the ground.
The Ravens rushed for 150 yards, but Jackson threw for 162 yards and a key pick six interception which doomed the Ravens’ offense.
“I talked to Lamar last night,” left guard Bradley Bozeman said. “He was upset, he was pissed off that we didn’t get the win, we didn’t do the things we needed to execute and get done. That’s the entire group, the offensive line, the running backs, the quarterbacks, the whole offense. We didn’t do the things we needed to do to get the win. We practiced all week, prepared, got ready, just didn’t execute or get it done last night.”
The problems that persisted for the Ravens last night were certainly problems that they had all season long, all of which popped up at the same time. There were poor snaps and mistakes on the offensive line that created a nightmare scenario for Baltimore.
The Ravens ranked first in the NFL with 191.9 yards rushing per game in the 2020 season, more than 20 yards better than the second-ranked Titans. No teams except for Baltimore and Tennessee rushed for more than 150 yards per game this season.
But the passing attack certainly left something to be desired all season, as it ranked dead last at 171.2 yards per game. And when Jackson recovers and starts his training for the 2021 regular season, that’s certainly the place they’ll need to start.
“Whenever you’re the No. 1 rushing (team) and the 30-something passing, that’s not right,” Brown said. “That's not balanced. 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.”
