Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are set to face the Buffalo Bills in what is considered the best matchup in the Divisional Round. The Ravens quarterback is currently the favorite to win the MVP award, and a win against Josh Allen in the playoffs will prove that he deserved it.
However, if Jackson loses to the Bills on Sunday, he will be heavily criticized by football fans around the world. Ryan Clark recently talked about the reigning NFL MVP’s situation and how he is under immense pressure to win in a “career-defining game” against the Bills.
Ryan Clark Explains Lamar Jackson’s Situation
Clark, who won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers during his playing career, discussed what’s at stake for the Ravens’ star this Sunday during a segment on “First Take.”
“We’ve seen Josh Allen be the best Josh Allen we could possibly get against Patrick Mahomes in the Divisional Round of the playoffs,” said Clark. “So, the reason that the chatter is often louder around Lamar Jackson is he’s been a better player throughout his career than Josh Allen. He has the two MVPs to prove that, but in the most important moments, we didn’t see that MVP-caliber player show up.”
Jackson, PFN’s No. 1-ranked signal-caller per our QB+ metric, improved to 3-4 in the postseason after the 28-14 win against the Steelers in the Wild Card round. He arguably had the best game of his playoff career last week and now has to play similarly against the Bills.
"If he does lose, the criticism will be louder around Lamar Jackson, and I believe it should be." 😯 @Realrclark25 on how Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen should be viewed if either lose in Bills-Ravens 👀 pic.twitter.com/RD6X6BYlou
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 17, 2025
Clark believes Jackson knows that nothing other than a Super Bowl matters for the Ravens. The 28-year-old quarterback is expected to become a three-time MVP, and a loss to Allen’s team would damage his legacy.
“That’s why Lamar Jackson has the attitude he’s had the entire season,” added Clark. “He ain’t talked about MVPs, he hasn’t talked about breaking records. He’s talked about winning a Super Bowl… He understands this is a career-defining game to set up a legacy-defining moment against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. So, if he does lose, the criticism will be louder around Lamar Jackson, and I believe it should be.”
Jackson is coming off the best season of his career, and he cannot, under any circumstances, be the reason why his team is eliminated from the playoffs. The Ravens’ defense, which struggled earlier in the season, has also picked up the pace in recent weeks. Since they also have a better roster than the Bills, they don’t have any excuses to lose on Sunday.
Jackson, including the playoffs, is 3-2 against the Bills in his career. Baltimore defeated Buffalo 35-10 in Week 4 this season, and all the pressure is on the AFC North to win as they are a road favorite against a team whose quarterback has been more successful than theirs in the playoffs.
A Win Against the Bills Wouldn’t Mean Much for Jackson
Winning against the Bills in Buffalo is not easy for any team, but even if the Ravens win, Jackson will not have much to gain from it. He’s likely still staring at a trip to Arrowhead Stadium to visit the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Jackson is in a situation where he has very little to win but a lot to lose against the Bills, as getting eliminated in the Divisional Round will be catastrophic for the quarterback, given how good he has been throughout the season.
Many would deem Jackson a playoff choker if he plays poorly and the Ravens lose. He can only avoid criticism after a loss if he goes out there and has his best game of the season while the Ravens’ defense fails to stop Allen and Co. in a shootout.
The upcoming two weeks are career-defining for Jackson. A win against Allen and Mahomes in back-to-back weeks to reach the Super Bowl is what many expect him to do this year. The Ravens’ star has the opportunity to change the narrative around him, and it remains to be seen how he performs under the most pressure he has ever faced in his career.
A Super Bowl will help Jackson cement his place among the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. In the same way, another early exit from the postseason would force people to stop taking his regular-season performances seriously, similar to what happened in the NBA with James Harden and in the MLB with Aaron Judge.
