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Lamar Jackson Opens Up About Ravens' Playoff Losses: 'I'm Tired of Going Home'
August 3, 2020
Lamar Jackson knows what it's like to win an NFL MVP award, but he doesn't know what it's like to win a playoff game.
He's ready to change that, as he told Peter King of Pro Football Talk:
"I think about it a lot, to be honest with you. That's where I wanna be. That's when everything gets...crucial. It's tough. I remember LeGarrette Blount DM'd me on Instagram. He was like, 'you know, playoffs is different from regular season.' I'm like, nah. But it is, because it's win or go home. And I'm tired of going home. I just can't wait to get back in that same spot and perform at a whole 'nother level."
Jackson lost in the AFC Wild Card Round to the Los Angeles Chargers when he was a rookie during the 2018 campaign, but it was last season's loss to the Tennessee Titans that was so stunning.
He was the league's MVP and directed the Baltimore Ravens to a 14-2 record and the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were gone from the playoffs, and it appeared like an AFC Championship Game between Jackson and Patrick Mahomes was that season's destiny.
Instead, the Tennessee Titans shocked the Ravens 28-12 in the divisional round.
While it wasn't Jackson's fault the defense let Derrick Henry run for 195 yards and throw for a touchdown, Baltimore's offense failed to take advantage of the scoring opportunities like it consistently did during the regular season.
It appears as if it's a motivating factor for Jackson, who told King he did not watch the Super Bowl because he felt as if the Ravens should have been playing.
Throw in the additions of running back J.K. Dobbins, defensive end Calais Campbell and linebacker Patrick Queen, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Ravens back on the shortlist of championship contenders. That is especially true if Jackson builds on the 2019 campaign in which he threw for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns while running for 1,206 yards and seven scores.
Nothing short of a Lombardi Trophy will be acceptable in his eyes in his third season.