Munich / Baltimore – First quarterback in NFL history with over 3000 passing yards and 1000 rushing yards. Most touchdown passes (36). Most yards per run (6.9). Behind Lamar Jackson from the Baltimore Ravens lies a true fable season, which was crowned with the unanimous election to MVP of the Regular Season.
The only downside was the premature playoff when, after a wildcard round in the wildcard round, you had to sail 12:28 at the first appearance in the post season against the Tennessee Titans.
Jackson filled the statistics sheet with 365 passing and 143 rushing yards, but he only managed a touchdown pass. For this, he made many unusual mistakes, including two interceptions.
The coaching staff noticed a nuance in which the playmaker will be trusted even more in the future.
Titans game as a memo for the future
Head Coach John Harbaugh recognized in the game in question an aspect in Jackson’s game that he would like to work on with the MVP in this offseason: Deep Balls.
“Cornerbacks will defend our receivers one-on-one and the safeties just as well, especially for downfield throws. And for that we have to get them paid,” said Coach Harbaugh a week ago during a conference call: “I am convinced that this is the next step in developing our offense is. “
However, the 57-year-old has complete confidence in the skills of his players: “I firmly believe that Lamar will take the next step and that our receivers will do the same.”
The development in the past season is positive for the coach anyway.
Jackson already an elite deep baller in 2019
According to an analysis by “USA Today”, which uses statistics from “Pro Football Focus” and “Next Gen Stats”, the 23-year-old was already one of the best deep ballers in the league last season.
Including the Post Season, he sold 27 of 68 deep passes for 829 yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 113.3. In a league-wide comparison, Jackson is in fifth place among the quarterbacks who made at least 50 percent of the snaps.
And even in the playoff loss to the Titans, which only got 52.5 percent of his passes, he got five of 13 deep attempts for 135 yards, no interception and a touchdown.
Rather, the premature playoff end serves as a starting point for Coach Harbaugh to tickle the last few percent out of his offense and then start a deeper playoff run in 2020.
Daniel Kugler
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