Getty Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson loses a crucial fumble against the Raiders on September 13.
Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson was not happy with himself after two fumbles in Week 1’s Monday night loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the second of which led to the Raiders’ game-winning touchdown in overtime.
The 2019 NFL MVP posted an expletive-filled tweet criticizing himself for the turnovers, writing, “f*** a** fumbles” following a broken heart emoji.
However, teammate Patrick Queen quickly picked up his quarterback, tweeting, “On to next week! We got you fam it’s football.”
Queen also expressed his support for Jackson during his postgame press conference, telling reporters, “We’ve got Lamar’s back. Yeah, he had two fumbles, but that’s on us. We’ve got to get the stops.”
Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey reflected on the last play of the game, during which he collided with teammate Chris Westry, allowing Raiders wideout Zay Jones to get open for the game-winning score.
Ravens Determined to Move on After Loss
After the dust settled Monday night, the Ravens refused to dwell on the disappointing loss and instead looked forward to a primetime matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.
Anthony Averett, who started at cornerback with Marcus Peters out for the season, admitted that the defense had some work to do after giving up 435 yards through the air, telling media, “Go back to the drawing board, get ready for the next game.”
Averett stepped up and played well on Monday night, reeling in a wild interception that caromed off the helmet of Ravens safety DeShon Elliott in overtime.
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Fullback Patrick Ricard commented on the game’s wild finish, which saw two field goals in the last minute and two turnovers in overtime.
That may have been one of the craziest games I’ve ever been apart of. Tough loss to start the season but have to move forward #OntoKC
Wideout Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown echoed his teammate’s sentiment, looking ahead to Week 2.
That’z out the way next up !
After ending last season with six touchdowns in six games, Hollywood picked up right where he left off, catching all six of his targets for 69 yards and an improvised touchdown connection with Jackson. He was especially effective out of the slot, where he did a majority of his damage as an Oklahoma Sooner in college.
Fellow wideout Sammy Watkins promised that the team would “come back better and stronger” against his former team next week.
“We have to come back next week and play the Chiefs and play better.” @sammywatkins
Former Raven Torrey Smith offered some words of wisdom to his former teammates, reminding them that it’s a long season with plenty of games left to play.
Queen, who showed off his speed on a delayed blitz in the fourth quarter, showed impressive maturity for a second-year player after the game, telling media “It’s a long season, 16 more. We got a good team coming in next week, so just need to move on to the next team and try and get the win.”
Shannon Sharpe Blasts Jackson, Ravens Defense
Shannon Sharpe, Hall of Fame tight end and co-host of Fox Sports’ Undisputed talk show, criticized the Ravens’ defensive play call towards the end of the game.
The Ravens blitz more than any other team in the NFL, finishing last season with a 45.4 blitz percentage, per Next Gen Stats. They continued that pattern on Monday night, frequently playing Cover 0, a defensive scheme that sends all available blitzers at the quarterback, leaving no safety to cover against a deep pass.
The Raiders adjusted well to the Ravens’ tactics, despite their inexperience, giving quarterback Derek Carr enough time to find open receivers.
Sharpe also called out Lamar Jackson for his two turnovers, especially his overtime fumble that gave the Raiders the ball in field goal range.
He noted that the Ravens failed to adequately protect Jackson on the play, but still believed the former Louisville Cardinal should not have fumbled the football.
Based on Jackson’s postgame tweet, he agrees with Sharpe, and will work on protecting the football in future games.