If the Baltimore Ravens are to claim a ninth consecutive victory on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, it’s absolutely vital that MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson is able to continue to weave the magic that has seen him become the talk of the NFL.
Jackson is second in the league with 25 passing touchdowns, but it has been as a runner that he’s been most effective this season. Jackson leads all quarterbacks with 139 carries and 984 rushing yards, with seven rushing touchdowns to boot. Defenses have been able to hold him under 247 passing yards in each of the Ravens last eight wins. But no defense has held him to less than 61 rushing yards since Week 4.
Stopping Jackson, or at least coming up with a plan to stop Jackson, is the major goal for Bills coach Sean McDermott (not forgetting defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier).
Since McDermott took over the Bills prior to the 2017 season, he has succeeded in slowing down the great Tom Brady whenever the Bills have taken on the New England Patriots. Brady averages 216 passing yards, 0.6 touchdowns and one interception per game in the five games he’s played against the Bills in the last three seasons. In his other 44 games against everyone else, Brady averages 285 yards 1.9 touchdowns and only 0.5 interceptions per outing.
The methods that McDermott and Frazier have employed to slow down Brady will likely be of little use as they come up with a game plan to combat Jackson. As noted, it’s not just Jackson’s arm that Buffalo will have to defend against. Jackson has opened up rushing lanes for the running backs and passing lanes because of his own rushing ability. The Bills have yet to face a truly mobile quarterback this season but they have one of their own in Josh Allen to at least provide some experience to work from.
While Allen has quietly been one of the best mobile quarterbacks not named Jackson this season, there’s still a different level between the two. Allen has rushed 93 times for 430 yards and eight touchdowns while Jackson has put up 977 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 140 carries.
If Buffalo relies on Allen as their recipe for what a dual-threat quarterback can do, they’ll severely underestimate Jackson and this Ravens’ offense. But if they’re able to discover a piece of Jackson kryptonite, then they could go a long way towards their goal of possibly stealing the AFC East from the Patriots in 2019. It’s why, like most games this season, it’s about if a defensive coordinator or head coach can limit Jackson that ends up being the biggest key of the game.