After a previous loss to Kansas City, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said that the Chiefs are his kryptonite. For those unfamiliar with the Superman comic books, movies, and pop culture franchise, kryptonite is the one thing that can stop Superman.
Asked about that comment after Thursday night’s season-opening 27-20 loss at Kansas City, Jackson cut off the reporter before the question was fully requested.
He said the Chiefs are not his kryptonite three times to drive the point home.
“It ain’t my kryptonite. It’s not my kryptonite. It’s not my kryptonite,” Jackson maintained.
Beyond that, Jackson saw many encouraging signs in the extremely narrow loss to Kansas City.
“The whole game gives me encouragement because I believe our guys were fighting,” Jackson continued.
“Unfortunately, there were penalties almost every time we had an explosive.”
While yes, Jackson did miss the throw to a wide-open Zay Flowers that would have been the game-tying touchdown, he still utterly balled out.
Colin Cowherd goes to WAR for Lamar Jackson
“The dude is 1-of-1. He is so unique and so great. People say ‘we’ll he didn’t play that great’…Mahomes had a terrible pick and almost two…I’m gonna defend Lamar Jackson forever…the kid is absolutely unreal” pic.twitter.com/oOpcJ3f1I5
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 6, 2024
From Colin Cowherd to Chase Daniel, the NFL pundit world was filled with voices defending Jackson on Friday. It’s easy to see why, as the Ravens franchise signal caller conveyed precisely why he’s the reigning MVP with his performance on Thursday night.
On this night, he was the Ravens’ Superman and easily the most valuable player on either side of the ball.
He consistently used his legs to make something out of nothing, whether it was scrambling to find the green grass where he could safely make a throw or just plain taking off and reaching the second level of the defense almost instantaneously.
A big talking point this offseason was his weight loss and the new, additional speed that came with it. It was clearly on display in the opener.
Lamar Jackson gets an “A” for last nights performance.
He does that vs 31 other teams and they are running away with this game. pic.twitter.com/MP1yFCR6ZL
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) September 6, 2024
The Ravens offensive line had a rough night, so protections often broke down, and Jackson consistently had to improvise.
He did a phenomenal job doing so. He finished with a passer rating of 90.8 and 495 yards of total offense (273 passing, 122 rushing).