Jackson off to running start while making history for Ravens

OWINGS MILLS, MD. >> In the wake of a history-making performance, Lamar Jackson was satisfied only in that he helped the Baltimore Ravens win a second straight game.

Deftly throwing the ball downfield and making calculated runs through the Arizona defense on Sunday, Jackson became the first player in NFL history with at least 250 yards passing yards and 120 rushing yards in a single outing.

Afterward, the secondyear quarterback lamented being sacked twice and wished he could have made a few throws differently.

“I could have been better,” said Jackson, now 8-1 as a starter in the regular season.

It’s hard to imagine Jackson, or the Ravens’ offense being any sharper over the first two weeks. Jackson threw five touchdown passes in a 59-10 rout of Miami before piercing the Cardinals for 272 yards passing and 120 on the ground in a 23-17 victory.

There is a profound difference between Jackson as a rookie — when he had one 200-yard passing game — and now.

“He’s better at everything,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “But what I like about Lamar is that he doesn’t dwell on the positives too much. He dwells on areas of improvement.”

WHAT’S WORKING

Jackson threw five passes for at least 20 yards, including a perfectly thrown 41-yarder to rookie Marquise Brown on a third-and-11 with 3 minutes left.

“There’s no quarterback that’s making any better throw than that. Ever,” Harbaugh declared.

Jackson also had runs of 19, 19 and 18 yards while averaging 7.5 yards per attempt.

So what’s a defense to do when it can’t predict whether a quarterback is going to run or throw?

“It’s just going to be a real conundrum for them,” Harbaugh said. “It’s going to be a real challenge for them to figure that out.”

WHAT NEEDS HELP

The Ravens yielded 349 yards passing to rookie Kyler Murray. That does not bode well for a unit that this Sunday will go up against Kansas Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 443 yards and four scores in Week 2 against Oakland.

“There’s some plays where we could have (been) in better position, communicated better,” safety Tony Jefferson said. “Those are things that you look back on and get fixed.”