Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson set a new NFL record in Saturday’s win over the Cleveland Browns.
He is the first quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards and rush for more than 800 yards in a single season.
Jackson Praises Teammates After He Sets New Standard
Jackson has set a high bar for quarterbacks to break with the record he set on Saturday. He praised his teammates with a simple quote.
“That’s all my teammates, that’s not just me,” Jackson said of the new standard.
Jackson finished Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with 217 yards passing and 63 rushing yards. He finished the season with 4,172 yards passing, a new career high, while also throwing for 41 touchdowns. His 915 yards rushing is also a career-best figure, and he found the end zone four times as a runner.
Furthermore, Jackson is the No. 1 quarterback in the league in PFN’s QB+ metric, with a grade of 99.8 (A+). PFN’s QB+ metric assigns a letter grade to every quarterback performance and factors in a number of stats such as success rate when pressured, third-down conversion rate, pocket production, and clutch performance.
Jackson made it clear that his success is a team effort.
“We’ve got the look team giving us great looks,” Jackson said, shouting out the scout team. “I’ve got my tight ends doing what they doing. Running backs. Offensive line. Receivers. That’s all the way a team effort. That’s not just me. I do what I’m supposed to do.”
Jackson closed his case for the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. There is really not much more that he could have accomplished this regular season.
He also led the Ravens to the AFC North division title, regardless of what the Pittsburgh Steelers do Saturday night against Cincinnati.
“That’s all my teammates, that’s not just me.” @Lj_era8 on his record-breaking season: pic.twitter.com/OgQGeUwtME
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 5, 2025
If Jackson was a lawyer, his performance on Saturday was his closing argument in the MVP battle with Josh Allen. Allen will play briefly on Sunday to keep his consecutive-starts streak alive, which means he won’t be adding much to his statistics. He will not be in the game long enough for it to matter.
Saquon Barkley and Joe Burrow are having great years, but Jackson’s was just untouchable. Further, Barkley’s season is over, as he is expected to be rested on Sunday. Had he broken the single-season rushing record, he might have a bigger claim.
Burrow has not won enough games, despite putting up gaudy statistics.
With all of the evidence having been presented, it’s on the voters to pick the MVP.
Jackson and the Ravens would probably prefer a long playoff run over a third MVP. Claiming the division was a major step toward that.
To win the AFC Championship, chances are they are going to have to go through the reigning champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, who are aiming for their third in a row. The Chiefs have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
In this instance, there is no reason why Jackson can’t have his cake and eat it too. He can win a Super Bowl, assuming the Ravens can circumvent the Chiefs, and MVP honors in the same season.