Lamar Jackson was constantly under fire from KC's blitz attack on pass attempts – he was sacked four times, picked off once and threw an interception.
Lamar says he didn't do “too much” in the Ravens' loss to the Chiefs
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson doesn't think he wanted to do “too much” in Baltimore's loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
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BALTIMORE – Lamar Jackson repeatedly described his mindset for the 2023 NFL season as “stuck.” Unfortunately for the league's presumptive MVP, Super Bowl immortality will be denied him – at least for another year.
Jackson turned in one of his weakest performances in the biggest game of the year as his top-seeded Baltimore Ravens fell 17-10 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
“No excuses,” Jackson said afterward, dirt and grass still clinging to his body during his postgame press conference.
Nevertheless, he clearly expressed how disappointing it was to have missed his long-stated goal of winning the Lombardi Trophy, something the Ravens have not achieved in eleven years.
“I’m angry about the loss,” said Jackson, who joined the club as a first-round pick in 2018.
“We were one game away from the Super Bowl. We've been waiting all this time, all these moments for an opportunity like this, and we failed.”
Surprisingly.
Jackson rushed for 54 yards, a team high, but Baltimore managed just 81 total yards on the ground – its lowest total of the season and about half its usual output. Worse, Jackson was constantly under fire from Kansas City's blitz attack when attempting a pass – he was sacked four times, sacked once and had an interception on a throw intended for tight end Isaiah Likely, who was covered by three Chiefs in the end zone.
“He is a great player. The whole game plan and the whole focus is on him and stopping him first,” Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill said of Jackson.
“He's had a few big performances and he's going to have a few more performances. He is a great player and an MVP player. I thought blow for blow, 15 rounds, heavyweight fight – I thought we got the best of it tonight.”
Jackson passed for 272 yards (many of the low-calorie variety late in the game) and hit rookie receiver Zay Flowers for a 30-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter. But after that, Kansas City went hard and largely turned the Ravens into a one-dimensional, error-prone team. Jackson's turnovers aside, Flowers fumbled just before crashing the plane in what would have been a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown that could have cut Kansas City's lead to three points.
“We just have to put points on the board,” Jackson said. “That’s the thing at the moment. There is nothing we could have done better to prepare for the game.
“If we were putting points on the board… we’d be talking about something else right now.”
But no matter the omissions from the officials, the mistakes of his teammates or the reigning champion Chiefs' generally clean and efficient game plan, Jackson – as fast as he is – will not be able to escape the growing narrative that he can't win the big one .
“Honestly, what hurts me the most is that I wanted to give him the recognition he deserves,” Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen said, referring to his quarterback. “It's a team sport, it's a team effort, but honestly that guy was the main guy I played for.
“He gets so much stuff that he doesn’t deserve. This was his opportunity to write some of those things off and move on to the next thing. That’s why it hurts because you want people like that, teammates that you love and care about, to get what they’re supposed to get and that didn’t happen today.”
Baltimore center Tyler Linderbaum added: “Lamar, he made us go. He's our leader and we definitely wanted to get it done for him. But we didn’t.”
A week after his first truly brilliant postseason performance in a 34-10 divisional round win over the Houston Texans, Jackson's playoff record now stands at 2-4. But this season was also a step in the right direction: Baltimore reached the title round for the first time with Jackson, who turned 27 earlier this month. Even though it wasn't visible on Sunday, he has developed into a passer and matured into a leader.
But that wasn't his moment.
And if there's anyone who understands that championship greatness can come slowly, it's Jackson's teammate Odell Beckham Jr.
“A player like Lamar will be thirty years from now – when we talk about Lamar playing Jackson – and everyone will remember that there are certain moments that define your…career. And that’s just one,” OBJ said.
“The greats have all been through tough times and I don’t think that will stop him from achieving his ultimate goal.”
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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.