Baltimore Ravens Sit Atop AFC, But Lamar Jackson's Flaws Could Prove Fatal

Lamar Jackson proved so many doubters wrong through his first three seasons. 

"He should convert to wide receiver." 

"He can't play from the pocket." 

"He can't win if he's not running the football." 

"The Baltimore Ravens offense will be figured out by defenses." 

All of these things, plus more, have been disproved through an electric start to Jackson's career. However, he's now facing some legitimate adversity because of his recent play, and the Baltimore Ravens have too much on the line for the quarterback to regress.

In Sunday's 16-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns, Jackson threw four interceptions. If not for Cleveland's offensive ineptitude, helped along by Baltimore's outstanding defensive effort, the Ravens wouldn't be sitting atop the AFC standings. 

Just how miraculous is the fact Baltimore owns an 8-3 record and the No. 1 seed in the conference? Well, teams lost 41 straight games when their quarterback threw four or more interceptions, per ESPN's Jake Trotter. The difference between a win and a loss was first and sixth place. 

Offensively, the Ravens didn't play particularly well. The unit finished with 303 total yards. Jackson threw for only 165 yards, with 39 coming on a single play. Despite a good ground attack with the game's most dynamic runner behind center, Baltimore averaged 3.4 yards per carry. The Browns defense had their number. 

Defensive ends Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney lived in the Ravens' backfield. Cleveland's coverage schemes had Jackson confused. The difference in the contest came down to two plays, both of which Jackson made because of his mobility. 

The first came on Baltimore's initial drive in the second half. The Ravens faced a 3rd-and-4 with Jackson flushed to his right while being chased by Clowney. The quarterback threw off-balance, took a hit from the defender and still found Andrews 39 yards down the field with a flick-of-a-wrist pass and unbelievable catch from the standout tight end. 

Three plays later, the two connected again for Baltimore's only touchdown. With Garrett and Clowney in hot pursuit, the quarterback somehow avoided both and threw to an open Andrews in the endzone despite having his arm clipped by the league's leading sack artist. 

Jackson's wizardry to extend plays and creativity outside of structure makes him truly special. He's the ultimate equalizer even when everything else goes wrong. He did just enough Sunday to help his team win during a defensive battle. 

But bigger concerns lie under the surface of a third victory in the last four weeks. Jackson threw seven interceptions across his previous three appearances. Some may attribute the quarterback's latest performance to missing last week due to illness instead of acknowledging the growing concern since Baltimore's 22-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago. 

Basically, the Dolphins put together extensive pressures packages and manned up on the outside to exploit the Ravens' mediocre offensive front and rattle Jackson. 

"[They were in] Cover Zero the majority of the whole game. They just got hot each and every time," Jackson explained after the loss. "I was dropping back, just couldn't do anything about that."

Cleveland isn't a blitz-heavy squad. Yet the unit continued to pressure Jackson throughout the contest, particularly through the effort of its defensive front. Even without the pressure, the Browns forced the quarterback into mistakes. 

"They just made great plays," Jackson told reporters after the contest. 

Did they, though?

Among those four interceptions, the quarterback struggled to identify droppers, showed poor ball placement and too often tried to force the ball to Andrews. In fact, all four interceptions came when throwing toward the tight end's direction. 

Yes, Cleveland's defensive backs made excellent plays on the ball. But their good work doesn't excuse Jackson's poor performance. 

This isn't a case of the league finally figuring out how to defend the 2019 NFL MVP. It's a fundamental understanding that pressure affects all quarterbacks, and the Ravens' strengths don't include winning outside the numbers or down the field on a regular basis. 

Jackson is more than capable of beating pressure as a passer or runner. He actually performed well when he attempted passes under duress against Cleveland, as NFL Next Gen Stats noted: 

Eye discipline and an understanding of where to go with the ball based on post-snap reads must improve if the Ravens are to remain the AFC's best team by default. 

Baltimore has done a wonderful job of building around its quarterback. In turn, Jackson has thrived and developed into the type of quarterback every opposing defensive coordinator fears. Everything can go wrong for the Ravens offense, and Jackson still finds a way to make a play. It's already happened multiple times this season in games Baltimore had no right to win. 

At the same time, Jackson can't keep making the same mistakes. The next six weeks of play are brutal. The Ravens face the Pittsburgh Steelers twice during that span, which are always tough matchups. The Browns, Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams are sandwiched between those two rivalry games. 

Meanwhile, five other AFC teams have seven or more wins. The competition for conference supremacy will be hot and heavy down the stretch. After the Ravens' last three performances, they don't appear capable of maintaining their current standing. 

In order to do so, Jackson must continue to overcome those who question his effectiveness after a stretch of poor play. If not, the types of mistakes he made during his last two appearances will prove fatal to the Ravens' season. 

"We're determined. We wanna win. We wanna keep stacking," Lamar Jackson told reporters. "It's a hard division. We're in one of the toughest divisions. We fight adversity. We do it all. There's been a lot going on throughout this whole season. ... We just gotta keep doin' what we doin'. We're going to click." 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.