Michael Vick never thought his record would be broken. Lamar Jackson broke it Sunday in Baltimore … with two games still left this season.
Jackson snapped Vick's record of 1,039 rushing yards for a quarterback in a single season. Nobody came close in the 13 seasons since – until Jackson.
Entering the game, Jackson needed just 23 yards to break Vick's record. He did it with a 5-yard run on the Ravens' first drive of the game.
The record-breaking run didn't follow the script, however. Jackson got it on a read-option keeper and took a big hit from Jets linebacker Neville Hewitt. It was one of the hardest hits Jackson has taken all season.
Running back Mark Ingram II came over to Jackson and said "congratulations" for breaking the record, but Jackson wasn't in a celebratory mood.
"I just got popped. I was hot about that," Jackson said. "I wasn't expecting that. ... That won't ever happen again."
Following an Ingram touchdown on the next play, the announcement was made on the video boards that Jackson had broken Vick's record, Jackson looked up for a second, showed no emotion, then went back to talking to Quarterbacks Coach James Urban.
"It's pretty cool. My favorite player growing up; it's amazing and I'm going to cherish that forever," Jackson said. "Just got to keep it going. Records are made to be broken, like he said. I heard him say that, and it's an honor for me to do it."
The Ravens quarterback said he still watches Vick's highlights, but Jackson has produced his own highlight reel this season. It seems every week, Jackson has made another defender look foolish. His ankle-breaking moves are on replay all over TV each week.
"Congratulations on making history. One of many milestones that you will surpass in your career," Vick said. "Best of luck in everything that you do. You deserve it. Keep up the hard work, and I'll always be rooting for you."
Jackson topped 100 rushing yards four times this season. He entered Sunday's Week 15 game with the ninth-most rushing yards in the league (887). He leads the NFL with 6.7 yards per carry.
But he's done a lot more than just run it this season. In 2006, Vick threw for 2,474 yards and tossed 20 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. He had a 52.6 completion percentage.
Entering Sunday's game, Jackson had already posted 2,677 passing yards with 29 touchdowns to just six interceptions and a 66.3 completion percentage.
It's fair to say Jackson – the favorite to win the MVP – is in the midst of one of the best seasons ever by a quarterback.
Last Sunday in Buffalo, Jackson became just the second quarterback in NFL history to ever reach 1,000 rushing yards. He was held to just 40 rushing yards by the Bills, and put off the record-breaking day, but it didn't take Jackson long to snap it Thursday night.
With the nation watching on Thursday Night Football, even New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the man Jackson has many times called the G.O.A.T., had fun watching the show.
