'MVP, MVP!' Lamar Jackson Hears It From Fans In Ravens' Statement Win Over Dolphins
After this game, John Harbaugh went nuts.
And not just nuts, but happy nuts.
Like, dancing, lit, and happy nuts.
Road To Super Bowl Goes Through Ravens
That's what a head coach does when he's got the best team in the NFL. That's how it is when the road to the Super Bowl goes through Baltimore.
This was the Baltimore Ravens not only earning the No. 1 seed and home field advantage in the coming playoffs but doing it while using all sorts of exclamation points to state their case. That's not me saying that.
That's Harbaugh talking about exclamation points, as you'll soon read.
And this game wasn't Lamar Jackson confirming he's an MVP candidate but making a bold snatch for the award that soon may be inscribed with his name.
This 56-19 victory was indeed a statement game for the Baltimore Ravens.
"I'm not sure I've seen a more impressive performance this season up to date," Harbaugh told reporters afterward. "And obviously we have a lot more to do. We have more work to do in front of us.
"But this is a mature football team and they understand that week to week it's a one-week challenge. And they've approached every single game this year, from the beginning on through, despite adversity, travel, opponents we have to play, to step up the way they have and put exclamation points on it ... triple exclamation points on it ... its says a lot about who they are."
BALTIMORE - Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens carries the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
Ravens, Jackson Deliver A 'Perfect Performance'
Harbaugh went on to call what the Ravens put on tape "a pretty much well-rounded perfect performance..." There was little arguing that because it was dominant in every way.
And the best of that came from Jackson.
The quarterback threw 5 touchdowns passes on throws of 20, 75, 35, 7 and 4 yards. Jackson was not only dynamic with his throws but accurate. He completed 18 of 21 attempts.
Said another way, Jackson had more touchdown passes than incompletions this game.
"I'm locked in," Jackson told CBS after the game.
The crowd at M&T Bank Stadium spent part of the fourth quarter chanting "MVP, MVP" every time the Baltimore offense was on the field. So what was Jackson thinking when he heard that?
"We need to finish this game," Jackson said. "I'm not really paying attention to the chants. Last year we were ahead at halftime, something like, third quarter and those guys started making plays and we didn't anything.
"The only thing that was on my mind was to finish the game and today we did."
Lamar Jackson Makes MVP Statement
The Dolphins authored a breakneck rally in their Week 2 game against the Ravens last season. Not this day game.
In this outing, Jackson didn't take his foot off the proverbial gas. And combined with the 2 passing touchdowns Jackson threw against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, it made for a full week of claiming the MVP award for Jackson.
"This performance was even better than last week," Harbaugh said. "He played really a great football game. He played a perfect football game in terms of the passing game. He was on point, pass protection was great."
The thing that makes Jackson so cool is that the guy is, well, so cool. He may have been hyped in the locker room but we didn't see that. What we saw is a soon-to-be 27-year-old man with a goal.
And a vision for reaching that goal.
"Knowing we still got a lot to get done," Jackson called it. "We got one obstacle. We finished that obstacle. There's still next week. That's how I'm looking at this season, taking it one game at a time, like I've been preaching to you guys."
BALTIMORE - Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens looks on during the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
Ravens Defense Dominated Despite Injuries
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this Baltimore victory is that this wasn't the Ravens at their best.
They played this game without starting safety Kyle Hamilton. They didn't have starting cornerback Brandon Stephens. And they lost starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey in the first quarter.
At one point when reserve cornerback Arthur Maulet left the game, the Ravens had only two cornerbacks left on the active roster. Maulet eventually returned but the point was made.
Against the NFL's highest scoring offense, a unit averaging 30.9 points per game and leading the league in passing yards, the Ravens stepped up. They limited Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to 2 TD passes and also picked him off twice.
"We had a lot of guys out this game," Harbaugh said. "After a physical game last week, guys couldn't end up going. Couldn't make it. Our corners, the way they stepped up and played the way they did ... it was a very impressive performance.
"And there's a spiritual depth to this team as well that underlines all that. And that's kind of where the real power comes from."