Lamar Jackson Feels He Has Waited Long Enough

After a seventh season that has been the best of his career, Lamar Jackson is back in the playoffs and ready to go the distance.

By Clifton Brown

After the Ravens clinched the AFC North, Lamar Jackson paused in a noisy locker for a moment of reflection. Waiting an entire year for another playoff chance has been difficult.

"After we lost in that AFC Championship game last year, I just sat at my locker over there," Jackson said. "I was thinking, 'We've got to do this all over again? We've got to play 17 games again, just to see if we're good enough to make it back?'

"Now we're back in the playoffs. Now it's all about this Wild Card game."

The 2024 playoff journey for the Ravens begins Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers. For Jackson, the quest to win a Super Bowl has been a seven-year mission, a career-long itch he can only scratch by winning the Lombardi Trophy.

Jackson is a perfectionist, driven not by fame or money, but by his compulsion to win. He loves competition, but he craves championships. Jackson focuses on the present, which is one of his many strengths.

Yet when asked how badly he wants to win the Super Bowl this year, Jackson immediately brought up the 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in last year's AFC Championship game. The pain of that experience remains vivid.

"When you get that close and see all your dreams fall apart?" Jackson said. "We put up 10 points. Actually, I look at it like we only put up seven points as an offense. I don't even count the field goal, because we didn't finish that drive like we wanted either.

"We drove the ball, but we didn't punch in. It's time to punch it in this year."

Mastering His Craft

To call Jackson's 2024 season superb would be an understatement. It's been magnificent, one of the best campaigns any quarterback has ever enjoyed.

Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken talked about giving Jackson the keys to the offense, and Year 2 in the system has been a joyride. Baltimore set numerous offensive records and enters Saturday's game with more firepower than they've ever taken into the postseason.

This isn't like the 2019 Ravens, who relied on a dominant running game. This is different than last year's Ravens, when Jackson won his second MVP but was still in the growing stages of taking command of the offense. In 2024, Jackson has been like Captain Kirk controlling the Starship Enterprise, leading the offense into uncharted territory.

"Our running game has been historic before, but as a whole offense, we haven't been this efficient with passing the ball, screens, traps, all the things we're doing as an offense, with Derrick Henry added to the mix," said Pro Bowl fullback Pat Ricard. "We're complete. We can attack anybody, anyway and it all starts with Lamar."

'I'm One of the Vets Now'

Jackson can complete 16 of 17 passes but still be angry after the game about the one miss. It's the way he's built. He looks almost serene when he arrives at the stadium for games, but once he gets under the bright lights, the fire burns hot.

His most memorable press conference this season came after the Ravens' loss in Week 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles, when Jackson said his mother "cussed him out" after the game, when she felt he passed up some opportunities to run.

He was still angry when he reached the podium, but interestingly, the Ravens haven't lost since. While he still shows his emotions, Jackson says he has learned different ways to lead. He believes that being more vocal this year, but also staying more even keel, has been the right approach.

"I'm one of the vets now," Jackson said. "I've got to lead by example. I can't let the guys see me get mad without holding myself accountable. I can't be all over the place."

'We've All Grown'

Quarterbacks Coach Tee Martin consults with Jackson on the sidelines between each series of every game. They're in meetings and practices together all season. Martin led Tennessee to a college football national championship at quarterback and views Jackson as a generational player who is determined to maximize what he can accomplish.

Success is always a moving target for Jackson, because opponents focus so much on trying to stop him. He sees every type of defense and strategies against him vary from game to game. Facing the Steelers will be another chess match against a strong defensive team that knows him well.

However, Martin loves the demeanor Jackson has carried into games this season, regardless of the opponent.

"This year, as a team, not just him, but everyone involved, we've all grown," Martin said. "Regardless of whether we've just scored a touchdown, or if we've just punted, he's coming to the sidelines and recentering himself. The conversations are positive and productive.

"When you've thrown three, four, five touchdown passes in a game, it's easy to get caught up in the moment. He keeps centered. He's done an incredible job of staying in the moment, stacking series, stacking games."

Humble While Being Historic

Jackson is the team's most popular player, which can be difficult for someone who attracts so much attention. It speaks volumes that his teammates often talk about "winning a Super Bowl for Lamar." Of course they want it for themselves, but they genuinely want it for him.

Monken believes he knows why.

"He wants to be coached, wants to be great, and he's about as humble as you could ever ask for from a star player," Monken said. "It's why his teammates love him – because he works hard, and he's humble and owns it."

Ricard joined the Ravens a year before Jackson and has enjoyed a front-row seat watching the evolution of his career.

"The questions I get asked all the time about him are, 'What's it like to play with him,' or 'What's he like as a person,'" Ricard said. "He's always tried to be like one of the guys, which can be kind of hard because he's an MVP caliber player. It's an honor to play with someone that good. It only makes you want to play harder.

"With all he's done, all the accolades, the only thing he doesn't have is a Super Bowl. Once that does happen for him, the haters can't say anything. People love to hate in this world, even greatness. Guys like Tom Brady and LeBron James have haters. Once he gets that ring, you can't really say anything else about him."

Jackson is already an iconic figure, the all-time NFL rushing leader for quarterbacks who has been a trendsetter. Mobile quarterbacks are more coveted since he entered the league, and more Black quarterbacks have become starters.

Jackson plays the position his way, and his success has helped open doors for other quarterbacks to play the game their way. In hindsight, it seems absurd that he had to wait until the final pick of the first round to be drafted. Despite being the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy and being a spectacular player in college, Jackson had to prove to the NFL that he would be this good.

Judging by his play this year, the best is yet to come. Today is Jackson's 28th birthday, but the gift he wants most will have to be earned during the playoffs. While Jackson said he's gotten better about not listening to the outside noise, he'd love never to hear again, "But he's never won a Super Bowl".

What will doubters say if the Ravens are the last team standing and win the Super Bowl, Jackson was asked?

He paused.

"They'll probably say I can't do it again," Jackson said smiling. "But I'd rather them say that."