Lamar Jackson’s Playoff Journey: Can He Finally Overcome the Hurdle?

Lamar Jackson’s Playoff Journey: Can He Finally Overcome the Hurdle?

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Earlier this season, the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterbacks coach Tee Martin decided to show a clip that could potentially change the course of Lamar Jackson’s career. The clip featured Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes during last season’s AFC Championship Game. In the huddle, Mahomes was heard emphasizing, “Composure, composure, composure. I want y’all to finish, but I want composure.” This was not just a pep talk; it was a lesson in championship mentality.

Martin’s message to Jackson was clear: to win the toughest games, a team must be emotionally and mentally prepared. Jackson, who has won as many NFL Most Valuable Player awards as postseason games — two — is at a crossroads. Despite putting up his best statistical numbers this year, becoming the first player to produce more than 4,000 passing yards and 900 rushing yards in a season, Jackson faces a unique distinction. He is the only multiple NFL MVP who has not won a Super Bowl, much less reached one.

Helping Jackson overcome his playoff struggles and advance to the Super Bowl has become the franchise’s most pressing priority. Since 2018, among quarterbacks with at least five starts, Jackson has the NFL’s fourth-best regular-season record at 70-24 (.745) but is tied for the worst postseason mark at 2-4 (.333). In the playoffs, Jackson has produced as many turnovers (6 interceptions, 3 lost fumbles) as touchdowns (9).

As the Ravens prepare to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Saturday’s AFC wild-card game (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video), the question looms: Has Jackson learned to lean on his upgraded supporting cast, avoid uncharacteristic mistakes, and use his past postseason experience to zero in on his ultimate goal?

“I’d just be too excited,” Jackson admitted when recalling his past postseason experiences. “That’s all. Too antsy. I’m seeing things before it happened, like, ‘Oh, I got to calm myself down.’ But just being more experienced, I’ve found a way to balance it out.”

Asked about Jackson’s mindset heading into the playoffs, tight end Mark Andrews confidently stated, “Locked in. Completely locked in.”

The Ravens have made significant efforts to reduce the pressure on Jackson by improving the players around him. In the past three drafts, Baltimore has bolstered the offensive line by adding Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum and rookie starting right tackle Roger Rosengarten. Jackson now has his first Pro Bowl wide receiver in Zay Flowers, although Flowers will not play on Saturday due to a knee injury sustained in the regular-season finale.

Baltimore’s biggest addition came when they signed free agent running back Derrick Henry, whose 1,921 rushing yards are the 11th most in a single season in NFL history. Henry’s powerful presence, especially late in games, was intended to strike fear in defenses and provide some relief for Jackson.

“Now,” said Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson, a Ravens radio analyst, “Lamar doesn’t have to be Superman.”

The One That Got Away

There’s only one postseason game Jackson still thinks about: last season’s AFC championship, a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs. “It was right there,” Jackson said, alluding to reaching the Super Bowl. “But my mind, I’m focused on now, though. It is what it is at this point.”

In that game, Jackson’s biggest mistake was an unusual one. With the Chiefs leading 17-7 in the fourth quarter, Jackson moved Baltimore to the Kansas City 25-yard line before launching a risky throw to tight end Isaiah Likely, who was a step behind a crowd of defenders. By the time the underthrown pass reached the end zone, Likely was surrounded by three Chiefs players, and Jackson’s throw was intercepted.

“In the previous years, I think he’s pushed, he’s tried to make plays in the postseason,” Woodson said. “And normally in any sport, when you’re trying to make plays, they don’t normally come. You let them come to you.”

Jackson has averaged one turnover every 82 snaps in the regular season. In the playoffs? One turnover every 45 snaps.

• In Baltimore’s 2020 divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills, Jackson threw a pick-six on a 101-yard return by cornerback Taron Johnson. He has thrown only one other pick-six in his career, which came off a deflected pass against the Cleveland Browns in 2023.
• Jackson’s change in play from the regular season to the postseason is one of the most dramatic in the league. His QBR from the regular season (67.4) to the postseason (53.2) is a 14.2-point drop-off, the second highest among quarterbacks since 2006, behind only Carolina Panthers veteran Andy Dalton, according to ESPN Research.

In Jackson’s first playoff game, in the 2018 wild-card round, he fumbled three times against the Los Angeles Chargers. In the 2019 divisional round, he had two interceptions against the Tennessee Titans. Both games were losses.

“When [Lamar is] at his best, he’s playing free,” Linderbaum said. “So I don’t think he needs to have any pressure or feel any pressure. I think he’s at his best when he’s having fun, and that’s our job to try to get him into that state of mind.”

Jackson’s Regular Season Mastery

Jackson’s highlight-making plays have made him and the Ravens must-watch TV. The reigning NFL MVP has played a nearly perfect regular season by eliminating mistakes. He has thrown four interceptions in 2024, with three coming off his receiver’s hands and the other coming when a receiver didn’t finish his route. In his previous MVP seasons, Jackson threw six interceptions in 2019 and seven in 2023.

“His mind is on another level,” Martin said. “What he sees, what he thinks about, what he anticipates and how he acts on it is another year advanced.”

Jackson is the first player in NFL history to produce more than 40 touchdown passes (41) and fewer than five interceptions (4) in a season.

“Every game, his will, his fight, he’s after perfection,” Andrews said. “His will to win games and be on point, to be him, to be Lamar, and even elevate that from week to week is truly unbelievable.”

Backup quarterback Josh Johnson believes Jackson has limited his mistakes by taking ownership of the offense and getting everyone on the same page.

“Lamar’s awareness is not talked about enough,” Johnson said. “His God-given ability allows him to do things that most people can only dream of. And so a lot of people think he’s improvising. But a lot of times it’s not.”

On Saturday, Jackson faces his biggest postseason challenge in the Steelers, a team that historically has forced him to make mistakes. They are the only team that Jackson has thrown more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (8) against.

Jackson, who is 2-4 against Pittsburgh, had his best game against them in last month’s 34-17 win, throwing for 207 yards and three touchdowns. Despite this, he couldn’t celebrate. His last interception of the season came against them in the fourth quarter after a miscommunication with wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who cut off his route.

“I was mad until the game was over,” Jackson said. “I’m lying, I’m still mad. The game [is] over, I’m still hot.”

When the Ravens captured the AFC North title for a second straight season in Week 18, Jackson didn’t wear the celebratory hat and T-shirt like many of his teammates. Inside the locker room, he was unhappy about the last drive because of what Ravens coach John Harbaugh called “some personnel challenges.”

“The dude is a competitor,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a fighter. He’s just one of a kind. There’s nobody like Lamar Jackson.”

The Final Frontier: Super Bowl Glory

In Jackson’s seventh season, getting to a Super Bowl is the last box to check. But it was that way for many quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre didn’t reach their first Super Bowls until they were 27. Jackson turned 28 on Tuesday.

It took Peyton Manning and Drew Brees until age 30 and their ninth seasons to advance to their first Super Bowls. Manning had won two NFL MVPs before reaching his first Super Bowl.

“Experience counts in many situations, and he’s got a lot of experience in the playoffs now,” said Marty Mornhinweg, Jackson’s first offensive coordinator with Baltimore. “Playoff games are different than regular-season games. So he’s had that experience. And I would expect Lamar and the Baltimore Ravens to win a couple Super Bowls in the near future.”

Before the start of this season, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta noticed an “urgency” in Jackson. DeCosta said Jackson was in tune with his teammates and coaches in practices.

“I can really get a sense that this guy is so hyper-focused on this season and really working to get a ring,” DeCosta said in August.

At the start of training camp, Jackson recalled what he said when Baltimore selected him with the last pick of the first round in the 2018 draft: “They’re going to get a Super Bowl out of me. Believe that.”

“I said that, and I meant that,” Jackson said. “This is the highest level of the game we play. You’ve got to go out a champion, and that’s what I want to be labeled as — a champion. [I don’t] just want to be labeled as MVP here and there. I want to be a champion.”