Lamar Jackson is on the verge of winning his second NFL MVP award, making him the 11th player in league history to win multiple MVP awards.
But the 27-year-old quarterback, who is in his sixth NFL season, has yet to play in a Super Bowl after the Ravens’ heartbreaking loss at home to the Chiefs in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
While there will be plenty of time on a talented Ravens team that was drafted well, Shannon Sharpe sees a trend in Jackson’s performance in the postseason.
“I believe that Lamar still has a chance to go to the Super Bowl and win it because he has that kind of ability. But in key moments, Lamar Jackson still shows up when the team absolutely needs him.” “I haven’t done it,” said Sharp, who won three Super Bowls, including one with the Ravens. on ESPN’s “First Take” on monday.
And that’s often what makes these great quarterbacks historically great. We’ve seen when you take away certain aspects, when you take away the running game. [Peyton] Manning, we’ve seen [Tom] Brady, I’ve seen it. [Patrick] Mahomes, we’ve seen other great quarterbacks win those types of games. Sure, this is a team that relies on the run first, but if you believe in Lamar Jackson as he is, he has to win this game. ”
Jackson was 20 of 37 for 272 yards and had a touchdown in the first quarter, a lost fumble in the second, and an interception in the fourth.
The interception came at 6:45 on 2nd-and-10 at Kansas City’s own 25-yard line, with Baltimore leading by 10 points and going into triple coverage, including contact with Ravens tight end Isaiah Riley.
Jackson finished with 100 yards rushing and completed 16 of 22 passes for a total of four touchdowns against the Texans in the district round, but he rushed eight times for 54 yards and on his own deflected pass. The catch was only 13 yards.
The Ravens went 1-1 in the playoffs in Jackson’s first two seasons. In his second year as MVP, he lost 28-12 to the Titans, and Baltimore went 14-2 in the regular season.
Baltimore got revenge against Tennessee in the wild card round the following year, but lost to the Bills in the divisional round.
The Ravens missed the playoffs two years ago, and last year Jackson was sidelined with an injury in a wild-card loss to the Bengals.
Sunday was Jackson’s first playoff game against Mahomes’ Chiefs, but after an eventful regular season that saw Mahomes play his first playoff game on the road as a No. Many thought the time was ripe.
“Kansas City will probably never be as vulnerable in the postseason as they are going into this game,” Sharp said. “[The Chiefs are] I’m going to take action. They will get better wide receivers and more speed at the linebacker position. This was your best chance. ”
