Tag: lamar jackson interceptions

Inside the Ravens’ fourth-down decision everybody hated

Lamar Jackson’s fourth-down red zone interception cost the Ravens their game against the Bills. But was it the wrong decision?

With 4:15 left in their Sunday game against the Buffalo Bills, the Baltimore Ravens had an important decision to make. They had fourth-and-goal at the Buffalo two-yard line, and head coach John Harbaugh had a three-way go. The Ravens could kick the easy field goal to go up 23-20. They could run the ball and either score a touchdown, or pin the Bills near their own end zone. Or, they could put the ball in Lamar Jackson’s hands, and have Jackson try to throw a touchdown pass.

Harbaugh chose Option 3, and as it turned out, that was the wrong answer. The Ravens started this drive at their own five-yard line with 13:38 left in the game, and just about every play in that marathon drive was Jackson either throwing the ball or running it. Jackson had been playing at an MVP level through the first three weeks of the season, and even though the Bills seemed to have answers for him that other defenses did not, this was a reasonable call to make. Maybe not if your quarterback was Russell Wilson or Kyler Murray, but again, Jackson had earned the benefit of the doubt based on what he had done in-season.

If the play had worked in the Ravens’ favor, we’d all be talking about how great Jackson is, and how Harbaugh was once again ahead of the analytical curve.

That was not what happened. Out of 12 personnel, Jackson dropped back and threw an interception to safety Jordan Poyer — the second pass Poyer had picked off in the game.

Lamar Jackson throws three second quarter interceptions vs. Browns

Lamar Jackson threw three interceptions in 2:15 of clock in the second quarter.

In Lamar Jackson’s remarkable NFL career, the most interceptions he’d ever thrown in a game before his Sunday night performance against the Browns was three, in a 26-23 win over the Steelers in 2019. Jackson managed to match that total in the second quarter against the Browns, which is impressive in some weird way. When you throw three picks in 2:15 of game clock, that is unique. Jackson, who had thrown eight interceptions in 309 attempts this season through Week 11, couldn’t stop giving the ball away to his division rival.

Jackson’s first pick was an attempted pass to tight end Mark Andrews that two different Browns defenders could have come down with — linebacker Malcolm Smith almost had it, but Smith tipped the ball to cornerback Denzel Ward, who made an amazing play for the pick. Ward has three interceptions in his last four games. That pick came with 2:40 left in the first half.

Then, with 1:02 left in the first hald, second-year safety Grant Delpit, who missed his entire rookie season due to injury, got Jackson on a robber look in which he snuck down and muddied the picture over the middle.

And with 25 seconds left in the first half, Jackson threw a pick to safety Ronnie Harrison on another pass intended for Andrews. All three interceptions were intended for Andrews, though it’s not the tight end’s fault.

The Ravens have more than a good chance to win this game and push their record to 8-3 because the Browns have been even more offensively inept, but this isn’t something Jackson will want on his resume down the road.