Ravens QB Lamar Jackson ties NFL record with 25th career win
To say that Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson is on the fast track or even destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame not even three full years into his career would be premature and a bit overly optimistic.
However, all he has done to this point in his career is “win win win no matter what” to quote T-Pain and after pulling out a gutsy come from behind victory in the second half to beat Indianapolis 24-10 on Sunday, he has tied Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino for the most career wins by a quarterback in their first 30 regular season starts with 25.
“It’s pretty cool that I’m up there with a Hall of Famer but still got to win each and every game so it’s alright,” Jackson said.
Against Indianapolis, Jackson and the entire offense had a rocky start to the game and were limited to just 55 total yards in the first half. However, the reigning league MVP and the Ravens as a whole on both sides of the ball flipped the script in the seconds half.
After going 9-of-13 in the first half, Jackson completed all 10 of his passes in the second and finished with 170 yards passing with no interceptions.
He also led the team in rushing with 58 yards on 13 carries and his 9-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter effectively put the game out of reach with the way the defense was dominating in the second half.
It was a great rebound game for Jackson after a horrid four-turnover performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week that spotted them seven points on the first possession of the game, set their offense up with short fields, and cost the Ravens points in the red zone twice.
The win not only tied Marino’s record, but it also set a new record for the longest streak of a team scoring at least 20 or more points in a game at 31 in a row.
It also marked the first time that Jackson was able to lead his team to a comeback victory after trailing at halftime. He was 0-6 including the postseason as a starter and the Ravens were a league-worst 0-20 including the playoffs since Week 10 of 2016 heading into Sunday’ game.
“We always hear about it in the press and stuff how we never came back and stuff like that, so it’s good I guess,” Jackson said. “We want to win every game. We don’t want to be behind during the game, but it is what it is and we came out with the victory. It’s pretty good. It shows what our team is made of.”
While Jackson doesn’t have a playoff victory under his belt in two trips to the postseason and is 0-3 versus Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City Chiefs, the fact that he not only boasts a 25-5 record as a starter in the regular season and became just the second player ever voted league MVP unanimously after a record-breaking season in 2019 are two incredible feats that he has accomplished at just 23-years-old.
