FORGIVE my ignorance Baltimore Ravens fans, especially supporters of quarterback Lamar Jackson. Aside from the San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance, only Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, Kyler Murray of the Cardinals and the GOAT himself, Tom Brady of the Buccaneers are the only other QB’s I’ve been following.
This young man is a running back in a quarterback’s body and maybe vice-versa. He won the Heisman Trophy in only his sophomore year in college at the University of Louisville. He’s the youngest quarterback in league history to start in a National Football League (NFL) postseason game.
According to an American football web site, “Jackson became the Ravens’ starting quarterback in his rookie season after an injury to incumbent Joe Flacco and clinched a division title with the team, also becoming the youngest NFL quarterback to start a playoff game at age 21.
The next year, Jackson set the season record for quarterback rushing yards and led the league in touchdown passes en route to clinching the top seed of the American Football Conference (AFC). For his success, he became the second unanimous Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the fourth African-American quarterback to win the award. Jackson followed up his MVP campaign by becoming the first quarterback to have multiple 1,000 yards rushing seasons while leading the Ravens to a third consecutive playoff run.“
He runs like a gazelle and his athletic ability is off the charts. There are reports that Jackson clocked in a 4.34 40-yard dash time in 2017 at Louisville which would have been the fastest time in NFL history for a quarterback.
Other records Jackson set, according to the same American football webpage, “Jackson joined Aaron Rodgers (2019) and Joe Montana (1989) as the only players in the Super Bowl era with 15-plus completions, 3-plus passing touchdowns, 1-plus rushing touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating in a single game.”
Jackson is only the third quarterback in NFL history to produce two perfect passer ratings in the same season with the aforementioned Montana and Rodgers the first and second respectively.
At 6-foot-3 and almost 220 lbs, he has the rare combination of size and speed for a quarterback. In 2019, Jackson became the second youngest player in NFL history to win the MVP award. He’s also only the fourth African American quarterback win MVP.
Not knowing who Lamar Jackson is and what his exploits have been as an NFL quarterback with the records he’s broken is like having been living under a rock indeed.