Ravens' Lamar Jackson on Approaching 5K Rushing Yards: 'I'm in Line with the Greats'

Lamar Jackson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL when it comes to using his legs, and the Baltimore Ravens signal-caller is nearing a historic feat.

Jackson is just 28 rushing yards away from becoming the fourth quarterback in NFL history to run for 5,000-plus yards in his career, and he could reach the mark on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"I'm in line with the greats," Jackson said Tuesday, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "That's cool."

The only other quarterbacks to accomplish the feat are Russell Wilson, Michael Vick and Cam Newton.

Jackson will likely become the fastest quarterback to reach the 5,000-yard rushing mark as Sunday will be just his 82nd NFL game. Vick accomplished the feat in 104 games, Newton in 129 games and Wilson in 175 games.

The Chargers are allowing 102 rushing yards per game this season, so there's little doubt Jackson will etch his name into the history books this weekend as he's averaging 48.6 rushing yards per game this year.

The 26-year-old already set the single-season rushing record for a quarterback when he ran for 1,206 yards during the 2019 campaign en route to the NFL MVP award. He is also the only quarterback in league history to run for 1,000-plus yards in back-to-back seasons after also rushing for 1,005 yards in 2020.

While Jackson eclipsed the 700-plus yard rushing mark in 2021 and 2022 and will likely do so in 2023, he has placed more of a focus on improving his passing over the last several seasons.

Jackson put together one of the best passing seasons of his career in 2019 when he threw for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns against six interceptions, but he's completing the highest amount of passes in his career this year.

The Louisville product is completing 69.5 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2,441 yards and 12 touchdowns against five interceptions in 11 games.

The Ravens enter Sunday's matchup first in the AFC North with an 8-3 record and are primed to rival the Kansas City Chiefs for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.