For a moment, Lamar Jackson's thoughts after unleashing the longest completion of his career weren't on whether his receiver caught it. His thoughts were that he just took a late hit from Broncos nose tackle Mike Purcell and he wanted a roughing the passer penalty called.
"I got hit so I'm thinking there's a flag," Jackson said. "I didn't even care about the ball in the air at that time because I got hit as soon as I threw the ball so I'm looking for the flag."
Once he heard Ravens fans in Empower Field at Mile High erupt for Marquise Brown's miraculous diving catch, Jackson knew he had just thrown a touchdown and the late hit didn't matter anymore. He did offer a quick flex as his center, Bradley Bozeman, helped him off the turf and pleaded to the referees.
But on Monday early afternoon, Jackson made it clear on Twitter that he's not happy about the lack of protection he's getting from referees.
Jackson also retweeted a couple objections from fans about the hits:
After Jackson got rid of the ball, Purcell drilled Jackson in the lower back/hip area, a shot that probably didn't feel good after Jackson missed two practices last week with a back issue.
On Monday, Head Coach John Harbaugh said Jackson came out of the game healthy, but that they will be sending plays to the NFL for review. As Jackson's game evolves into more passing and less throwing as it has so far this season, he will be susceptible to more shots like that.
"I thought he did a good job of [avoiding contact] yesterday. He was getting down. He was running out of bounds," Harbaugh said. "When you're in the pocket, there's nothing you can do to protect yourself – the rules are what protect quarterbacks in the pocket."
The lack of protection for mobile quarterbacks is not a new subject or complaint. Michael Vick and Cam Newton both voiced concerns over it in past years, with Newton saying in 2016 that "I don’t even feel safe."
"I think all the quarterbacks should be treated the same," Harbaugh said. "I don't think any quarterback should be judged any differently in terms of how they're protected, that's for sure."
