Jackson’s arm, legs carrying load for Baltimore
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The previous time Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson came back to play in his native South Florida, he put on a show.
Miami can only hope this trip goes differently.
It’s a big weekend for Jackson, who gets his number retired at Louisville on Saturday — but first, he’ll be leading the Ravens against the Dolphins on Thursday night. Jackson grew up in a poor neighborhood about a half-hour north of Hard Rock Stadium, and like many others who found their way from the Miami area to the NFL, he said coming home to play the Dolphins is of enormous personal significance.
“We know what we’ve faced down there,” Jackson said. “We know what we’ve seen. We know how it is down there. We like to put on for where we come from and let other guys and little kids see us and have them wanting to do the same things we’re doing in a positive way.”
Jackson is chasing something that no quarterback has done in a long time. He’s ninth in the NFL in passing yards and sixth in rushing yards. No player has been in the top 10 of both categories for a single season since UNLV legend Randall Cunningham — sixth in passing, ninth in rushing — did with Philadelphia in 1990. Before that, it was Bobby Layne — third in passing, ninth in rushing — with Detroit in 1952.
“He’s dynamic, explosive,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said. “There are a lot of words like that you can use to describe Lamar.”
On Sept. 8, 2019, they were probably bad words.
Ravens 59, Dolphins 10 was the final score that day, the first game of Flores’ tenure in Miami ending with a resounding thud. Jackson had a perfect passer rating as the Ravens ran out to a 42-10 lead at halftime and stayed on cruise control from there.
It was a one-sided game, and for the past few years, it’s been a one-sided rivalry. Baltimore won by 32 in 2016, 40 in 2017 and then 49 in 2019.
No other current NFL team ever has lost three games in a row to the same opponent by at least 32 points.
“I tried to not remember much from it,” Miami tight end Mike Gesicki said when asked what he remembers about 2019.
A win would ensure Baltimore (6-2) stays at least one game clear of the pack in the AFC North with Pittsburgh (5-3), Cleveland (5-4) and Cincinnati (5-4). That division is one of two in which all four teams have winning records to this point; the AFC West — with two 5-3 teams leading two 5-4 teams — is the other.