Getty Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson prepares for a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson continues to garner admirers across the NFL after he engineered a 19-point comeback on national television against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.
Jackson was so impressive that he earned a shout out from Colts owner Jim Irsay, who said the young quarterback’s performance “may have been the single greatest performance in NFL’s/100 yr. history.”
On Dec 12,1965/I was at Wrigley Field,as a kid and saw live,Gayle Sayers 6 TD performance against SF 49ers in a Bears rout that toppled the 49ers in dominant fashion;but Lamar Jackson’s performance last nite,may have been the single greatest performance in NFL’s/100 yr. history🏈
Irsay even ranked Jackson’s 442-yard night over a legendary game from Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers, who scored six touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers in 1965.
Sayers, a 1977 Hall of Fame inductee, needed just 11 touches from scrimmage to reach 202 yards and five touchdowns, adding 134 yards and another touchdown on five punt returns.
But the Bears never trailed on their way to a 61-20 rout of the 49ers, while Jackson’s Ravens were behind by as many as 19 points in the second half, including a 16-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Jackson has received criticism throughout his career for a perceived inability to lead comebacks, but he proved the doubters wrong on Monday night.
Mark Ingram Sr., Jackson’s former teammate in Baltimore, continued to hype up the 2019 MVP on Twitter after the Ravens completed their comeback.
And “THEY” said L freaky can’t engineer a come back. That man cold blooded.
After out-dueling Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Week 2 and throwing for 316 yards against the Denver Broncos in Week 4, Jackson has spent much of this season countering narratives that have followed in him his career. With 442 passing yards, three touchdowns and a massive comeback in primetime, Jackson has firmly established himself not only as one of the best playmakers in the NFL, but one of the league’s best passers as well.
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner openly wondered if the NFL would be able to stop Jackson if he keeps improving at such a meteoric rate, especially as a passer.
Phenomenal performance last night by @Lj_era8… so talented but also improving week in and week out, year in and year out as a pocket passer… if this continues will it even be possible to stop him??? (Hard enough already)
Jackson Earns AFC POTW Honors
Jackson was named AFC Player of the Week for his efforts on Monday night, which included a personal and franchise record for single-game passing yards.
Another record-setting performance from @Lj_era8 earns him AFC Offensive Player of the Week‼️
He also set an NFL record for completion percentage for quarterbacks with either at least 40 attempts or 400 passing yards.
This marks the eighth time Jackson has earned recognition as AFC Player of the Week in his career, all of which have come in his last 35 starts since the beginning of the 2019 NFL season, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. That means that Jackson earns the award in almost 25% of his starts, a figure to which no other current or past NFL player comes even close.
Even more impressive is Jackson’s eight Player of the Week awards at just 24 years old, tying Ravens legends Ray Lewis and Justin Tucker for most in franchise history.
Lamar Jackson is 24 and has won 8 Player of the Week awards. Only 26 players have more than 10. The youngest player with more PotW awards than Lamar is 31-year-old Justin Tucker.
If Jackson is able to keep up his impressive level of play, he’ll have a shot at reaching the NFL’s all-time POTW leaderboard, currently topped by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady with 31.
Jackson Set for Big Payday
Jackson’s performance against the Colts is yet another reason that the former Louisville Cardinal will likely earn a massive contract from the Ravens in the near future. Baltimore has already exercised their fifth-year option for the young signal caller, ensuring he will be under center for the Ravens during the 2022 season, but Jackson is obviously in the team’s future plans.
Jackson has made headlines for negotiating his own contract without the use of an agent, but that strategy seems to be working out for him. With every MVP-worthy game, Jackson’s value goes up, and he appears firmly in control of his future earnings.
Lamar Jackson is his own agent, and he made his client a bunch of money last night.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers and Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace even thinks Jackson deserves to be the highest-paid player in the history of the NFL.
Lamar Jackson after this season should demand to be the highest paid player in the history of football!!!!!! Nobody in the league does more for their team!!
While that distinction currently belongs to Patrick Mahomes, who signed a contract for 10 years and half a billion dollars in July 2020, Jackson could approach that figure, especially if he earns another NFL MVP award this season.