Here are three early plays in which it’s abundantly clear that Jackson is leaving stuff on the table. This is receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, tight end Mark Andrews, and receiver Miles Boykin. Roman has created opportunities here, and Jackson does not avail himself of them.
Lamar's first throw against the Patriots. Pre-snap indicator is zone. Linebackers drop. When he hits his back foot, he's got Brown on the vert, Andrews on the deep leak, and Miles Boykin on the crosser. The play is a quick pass to Mark Ingram, because… tick, tock. pic.twitter.com/JuNheUsPlf
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) November 18, 2020
Second verse, same as the first. Jackson wants the deep boundary go to Brown, and he never sees Andrews with the capability to make a huge play in the middle of the field, because safety Patriots rookie safety Kyle Dugger is toast on this one.
Lamar's third throw. Seems fixated on hitting Brown, but Jason McCourty has that on lock. Meanwhile, Andrews has beaten Kyle Dugger on the crosser, J.C. Jackson is vacated to the other side, and all Andrews has in front of him is green grass and high tides. pic.twitter.com/ZrMhOaG4kK
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) November 18, 2020
And here… well, this is an easy first down if it’s a quick pass to Andrews, but alas. Result: Nobody goes nowhere.
This is just… yikes. Ravens don't have a lot of quick drops in their passing game, but this is pitch-and-catch if it's three-step. First-and-10 from the minus 14, and you wind up in the tar pits. pic.twitter.com/youzduyaBG
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) November 18, 2020
Jackson’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Willie Snead late in the third quarter is more what you want to see — the Patriots are playing single-high zone, Snead simply runs through the coverage, and Jackson picks him up against a dime secondary. This is a good anticipation throw into converging coverage. You’d like to see more of it.
On Jackson’s interception, I would say this was a combination of the quarterback fixating on what he wants, and an overall play call that doesn’t match the situation. This comes with 14 seconds left in the first half. The Ravens are down 14-10, and they have the ball at the New England 39-yard line with one time out remaining. Perhaps the end game here is to get a few yards and rely on kicker Justin Tucker for three points (generally a very solid idea), but going with three curls/comebacks and one deep vertical route doesn’t do much to open things up downfield.
Nonetheless, Jackson waits and throws the deep pass to Brown to the right boundary. The problem here is that Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson mirrors Brown perfectly, practically runs Brown’s route better than Brown does, and it’s an easy pick.
For the Ravens, it’s a bad combination of a quarterback who clearly is not seeing what’s in front of him, an offensive coordinator who does not appear to have the confidence of his quarterback, and an overall offense in which shot plays are supposed to come out of a declining run game that opponents don’t fear as they once did — which is why they’re playing that offense very differently.
Baltimore is 6-3 right now, and they have the Titans this Sunday, and the Steelers on Thanksgiving night. If the the Ravens split those games — and I do not see this offense as it stands being able to withstand the withering specter of Pittsburgh’s defense — a 7-4 mark by the time Black Friday rolls around will only amplify the questions about how far this team can go in the 2020 season.