BALTIMORE (AP) — Lamar Jackson capped a sensational regular season with a rather ordinary performance. It was still plenty good enough to set a pair of NFL records and lead the Baltimore Ravens to a second straight AFC North title.
Jackson completed 16 of 32 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. He also ran for 63 yards.
His numbers weren’t eye-popping. But Jackson unspectacularly did his share to bring the Ravens a victory and their fourth division crown in his seven years as a starter.
“There were certainly some plays that he made, especially on third down, escaping and making some plays down the field,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “It’s a challenge when he’s making the throws from the pocket. It’s a challenge when you have to defend for the duration of the down with his ability to move.”
Whether he’s jitterbugging behind the line of scrimmage, running downfield or delivering a how-did-he-do-that throw on the run, Jackson has done it all for the Ravens (12-5) this season. Along the way, he piled up some unprecedented numbers.
Jackson is the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 900 in a single season. No one had ever hit 4,000 and 800, but Jackson lifted the bar higher.
And that’s not all. Jackson’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews in the second quarter made him the first quarterback in NFL history with at least 4,000 yards passing and 40 touchdown passes with four or fewer interceptions.
Jackson completed the regular season with 4,172 yards passing, 41 touchdown passes and 915 yards rushing.
As far as the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner is concerned, he was just one part in a very intricate machine.
“That’s all my teammates included in that,” Jackson said. “It’s not just me. I do what I’m supposed to.”
Jackson is the third Ravens quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Vinny Testaverde did it in 1996, Baltimore’s first season after moving from Cleveland, and Joe Flacco threw for a team-record 4,317 yards in 2016.
Jackson would like to become the third Ravens quarterback to win a Super Bowl, following Trent Dilfer and Flacco. The journey begins next weekend, when Baltimore opens the playoffs at home in the wild-card round.
To get this far is great, but Jackson knows he’s got to do more to make this season a complete success and make everyone quit talking about his 2-4 record in the postseason.
“We got the job done. But the job is undone,” Jackson said. “I’m cool with what’s going on today, but my mind is on something else.”
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