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The Baltimore Ravens apparently like what they’ve seen from quarterback Lamar Jackson through his NFL starts. While the rookie signal-caller wasn’t asked to throw much in his debut against the Cincinnati Bengals, the performance had his arrow pointing up. So much so that it seems he may be on the verge of holding the starting job moving forward, even when Joe Flacco is healthy.
As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported just ahead of the team’s game Sunday, Jackson had a “strong shot” to keep the job if the Ravens defeated the Oakland Raiders in Week 12.
This isn’t all that surprising, as the Ravens obviously didn’t trade up for Jackson in the 2018 NFL Draft to keep him on the bench for long. While it took Joe Flacco’s hip injury to thrust the former Louisville Cardinals quarterback into a larger role, he dominated in an interesting fashion in Week 11. The team picked up a key win in that game over the Cincinnati Bengals, but it came with Jackson often utilizing his rushing abilities.
Lamar Jackson’s Performance in First Start
It was a unique first start for an NFL quarterback, as he took the approach of running early and often against the Bengals. Jackson tallied 26 rushing attempts last game for 119 yards while completing 13-of-19 passes for 150 yards. He didn’t throw or run for a touchdown in this game, but his upside is obviously there and he looked fairly accurate with his passes.
Jackson’s play was a big part of the reason the Ravens won the AFC North matchup to move them into a second-place tie at 5-5 on the season with the Bengals. Both teams sit behind the 7-2-1 Pittsburgh Steelers but remain in the mix both for the division title as well as a potential Wild Card spot.
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