Jackson, Ravens bound for AFC title game
After watching Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens completely dominate and dismantle the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, there doesn’t seem to be a single obstacle in their way that can prevent them from reaching the AFC Championship game.
That isn’t to say a playoff team couldn’t stumble upon a successful plan to contain Jackson and pull of a surprise, but it just feels as if these Ravens, winners of seven consecutive games, are destined to meet Tom Brady and the Patriots for the rights to advance to Super Bowl LIV.
And if that happens, could we possibly see a changing of the guard? Could the Patriots’ dynasty finally topple? It has to come to an end at some point and with the record-setting Jackson leading the way, not to mention Baltimore’s underrated defense, why can’t the Ravens be the new kings of the hill in the AFC? Glad you asked.
Because Jackson and the Ravens (9-2) just happen to run into the NFL’s top-ranked defense on Sunday when the 49ers (10-1) roll into town. If anyone can provide a blueprint on how slow down, disrupt and confuse Jackson, you’d think it would be San Francisco and its suffocating defense. Opponents are averaging just 136.9 passing yards per game against the 49ers, who have held teams to 100 or fewer net passing yards four times already this season.
Think about that for a moment. The numbers are historic.
Then again, the 49ers have also had some trouble with mobile quarterbacks this year. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks handed San Francisco its only loss to date. Kyler Murray and the Cardinals, meanwhile, twice gave the 49ers a run for their money before suffering fourth-quarter breakdowns.
Jackson is absolutely shredding it this season. Not only is he tied with Wilson for the most passing touchdowns (24), but he’s also rushed for nearly 900 yards already, including six touchdowns. Running back Mark Ingram II (778 yards rushing, 9 rushing touchdowns) provides another difficult element to stop and then there’s the furious pace at which the Ravens do things right before and after the snap.
It’s so confounding, defenders often remark they can’t identify the ball carrier. When that happens, you get out-leveraged and you end up chasing ghosts, which is sort of how Rams safety Eric Weddle, the former Raven, described it following Monday night’s 45-6 romp.
“I kid you not — I wouldn’t lie to you guys — half the time I didn’t know who had ball,” Weddle told reporters.
That type of stress on a defense can be overwhelming. If the 49ers aren’t able to cope with it this Sunday, who can? Well, there’s always those pesky Patriots, who lost to the Ravens earlier this month, 37-20 in Baltimore.
“It’s kind of hard. You always hear the stuff about Bill Belichick — it’ll be hard to beat him twice,” former Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston, now an analyst for FOX Sports, told The Republic. “He’s going to go back and watch that film and find out exactly what happened.
“I think it would be a great rematch. Because the Ravens are going to put up their points. I think all the pressure really drops to Tom. Tom’s going to have to put up 24, 27. Maybe they play them a little bit tougher this time, they don’t give up the 37. But I don’t see them really grinding that offense to a halt below 28, 24.”
With apologizes to every other AFC team in the mix, let’s hope we get Ravens-Patriots in the title game.
Thing I liked in Week 12
* The chants of “MVP” for Jackson by the partisan Rams crowd in Los Angeles during Monday night’s game. Jackson, who threw five touchdowns and ran for 95 yards in the rout, said he heard the support.
“It’s cool, but I’m trying to win the Super Bowl,” Jackson told reporters. “I’m not worried about MVP, you know. If it comes, it comes. I’m trying to win the Super Bowl. That’s a team award and that’s what I want.”
* That Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss as the only players to begin their careers with six straight seasons of 1,000 yards receiving or more.
“He was a freak of nature,” Evans said of Moss. “He was so exciting to watch. To be in the same sentence as him is amazing.”
* That Bills running back Frank Gore, who with 65 rushing yards in Buffalo’s 20-3 win over Denver, pushed his career rushing total to 15,289 yards to surpass Barry Sanders for third on the all-time list. Only Emmitt Smith (18,355) and Walter Payton (16,726) ran for more yards.
Things I didn’t
* The two tripping penalties on the
Cowboys during their 13-9 loss to the Patriots, the second of which was an absolute phantom call and likely cost Dallas a chance to win the game. The Cowboys sent both plays to the league for clarification and — surprise — were informed that neither penalty should have been called.
A little too late now, though, isn’t it? * Props to rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins for recording his first NFL win, but shame on him for failing to be on the field in “victory formation” as Washington was icing its 19-16 triumph over Detroit.
Haskins thought the game was already over, so he decided to celebrate by taking a selfie with a fan in the front row at FedExField.
“It was disappointing and I think it’s an experience he’ll learn from as he matures and understands it’s a 60-minute game,” interim head coach Bill Callahan told reporters on Monday. “It’s never over until it’s over.”
* The Packers’ shrinking offense. Green Bay has lost two of its last three games and during that stretch, Aaron Rodgers is averaging only 166 yards passing and thrown just two total touchdowns. Yuck!
Phone a friend
Each week in this space, we’ll try to reach out to someone who can offer their own opinion on what’s happening around the league and today it’s Daryl Johnston, who will be calling Sunday’s game between the Cardinals and Rams along with play-by-play man Chris Myers.
We wanted to get Moose’s thoughts on Sunday’s Browns-Steelers rematch and if he thinks there will be any crazy on-field shenanigans after that wild mess that happened between these two division rivals two weeks ago.
“No, I don’t,” he said. “We were involved in the Philadelphia Eagles’ “Bountygate” game my rookie year and it was almost the exact same scenario. We played them twice in three weeks. … I don’t think anything transpired at the Vet (Veterans Stadium) the way that everybody had drummed it up to be. There still is a mutual respect between guys on the field an they know that everybody is going to be watching.
“No. 1, the biggest motivation is the pocketbook. And No. 2, the integrity of the game. I’m sure the higher ups in the NFL will contact both organizations directly leading up to that game. … I think they’ll take the lead and I’m sure there’s going to be conversation at The ownership level as well. That would be very appropriate.”