Lamar Jackson made the All-Pro first team over Josh Allen and is now the favorite to win the MVP award. This will be Jackson’s third MVP honor of his career, and he will tie with Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Jim Brown, and Johnny Unitas among the players tied with the third most MVP awards in NFL history.
Since Jackson is expected to get the nod over Allen for the MVP award, there is more pressure on him to win the Super Bowl. Emmanuel Acho recently discussed what the upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers means for the star quarterback and how he has to win at any cost.
Emmanuel Acho Reminds Lamar Jackson of What’s at Stake in Playoffs
Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens to a 12-5 record this season and another division title. The Ravens will host the Steelers in the wild-card round and are favored to win by 9.5 points.
The Ravens star has a record of 2-4 in the playoffs and has struggled quite a lot. In a segment on FS1’s “The Facility,” Acho talked about how Jackson has a Super Bowl pressure level in the wild-card round game against the Steelers.
“This is Super Bowl pressure in Wild Card Weekend for Lamar Jackson,” said Acho. “I’ve been fooled in 2019. He [Jackson] broke the single-season rushing record for a quarterback, and he still threw 35 passing touchdowns. We had never seen anything like it. But then you got to the playoffs, and he fell short.”
“This is Super Bowl pressure in Wild Card Weekend for Lamar Jackson.”
— @EmmanuelAcho pic.twitter.com/i0AXvAVk4j
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) January 10, 2025
The former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker further discussed how potentially winning a second straight MVP award, and his third since 2019, has raised the stakes for Jackson.
“So, I’m suggesting Lamar is under more pressure than anybody I can even think of or imagine,” added Acho. “This weekend, you will likely win, not likely, there is a chance you will win another MVP. You are second in the running right now to win another MVP. That would be his third in approximately five years. How in the world can you fall short? How can you fall short vs. the Steelers?”
Jackson has a record of 2-4 against the Steelers, but he recently snapped the four-game losing streak against Pittsburgh in Week 16. The Ravens come into the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, whereas the Steelers have lost their last four games.
Losing against the Steelers will be totally unacceptable for Jackson, as he needs a deep playoff run to change the narrative around him. Suppose he goes home early again in the postseason. In that case, it will be hard to distinguish the Ravens star’s career from the likes of James Harden and Joel Embiid, both of whom have played historically well in the regular seaon, but have folded under pressure in the playoffs.
Comparing Jackson’s Postseason Stats With Regular Season
Jackson is 70-24 in the regular season as a starter and has won 74.4% of the games. However, that percentage drops to 33.3% in the postseason, and he is arguably the biggest reason why the Ravens have not played well in the playoffs.
Here is a comparison of Jackson’s stats across major passing categories in the regular season and in the playoffs:
| Category | Completion % | Interceptions/Game | Passing Yards/Game | Passer Rating | Passing TDs/Game |
| Regular Season | 64.9% | 0.52 | 212.5 | 101.9 | 1.75 |
| Playoffs | 57.4% | 1 | 220.7 | 75.7 | 1 |
Note: Only counting stats for games Jackson has started in his career.
As evidenced by the stats above, his numbers are significantly worse in each category, apart from the passing yards per game. There is an increase in that only because Jackson is forced to throw the ball much more in the playoffs than in the regular season, as he often finds his team trailing.
The Ravens star averages 27.4 passing attempts per game in the regular season, which jumps to 48.8 attempts per game in the postseason. Baltimore is at its best while running the ball so their quarterback is not under pressure to play hero ball, which has often made things worse.
Jackson has shown significant improvement as a passer this season. He is Pro Football Network’s top-ranked player in Quarterback+, with an A+ over the season and a 99.8 score.
Across the season, his QB+ number is even better than his incredible 2019 MVP season. Jackson leads the league in EPA/DB (0.31), nYPA (8.5), TD/INT rate (10.3), and tied for the league total touchdowns (45). He’s also first in the NFL in performances from a clean pocket (0.51 EPA/DB) and second when pressured (-0.00).
But the Steelers will be more than happy to let him throw the ball rather than allowing the Ravens run the ball with him and Derrick Henry.
The 28-year-old quarterback has to step up in the postseason this year, as an early exit will do irreparable damage to his reputation in the league.