Ravens' Lamar Jackson shot to exorcise 2019 playoff ghosts is here

BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are facing the Texans on Saturday afternoon in an AFC Divisional playoff game.

Jackson is also facing the ghosts of the 2019 season.

You remember Jackson’s 2019 season, don’t you? It was his first full season as an NFL starter and he was unstoppable. He won the league MVP award and the Ravens went 14-2 and rolled into the playoffs. The Titans then stunned the Ravens 28-12 at home and their season ended in a thud.

Four years later, Jackson is likely going to win his second MVP award in a few weeks. The Ravens are 13-4 and the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

The Ravens again have a home playoff game and no one has more pressure on them than Jackson this weekend. He is 1-3 in the playoffs and has seven turnovers in those four games. He has not reached an AFC Championship Game yet, never mind a Super Bowl.

For many, the memory of the 2019 season won’t be gone until Jackson proves he can win in January. For Jackson, he recently said he is way past that.

“2019 is over with,” Jackson said. “We’re always talking about it. I always find myself talking about it, but it’s different. That was just my first full season [starting] in the NFL and my second year in the league, at that. But it’s a different mindset, a different group of guys. I just feel like all around, we’re different.”

Jackson just turned 27 years old. He has a 58-19 record as a starter. The individual accolades have piled up for him since he was at Louisville and won the Heisman Trophy. He has been first-team All-Pro three times. He has quieted the critics who did not think he was a “real” quarterback.

All that’s left for Jackson is winning a championship.

That starts on Saturday with a visit from an upstart Texans team. Everything is set up for a run to the Super Bowl for these Ravens. The Texans have a rookie coach and a rookie quarterback who should be happy just to be in the divisional round. The Chiefs and Bills feel weaker than they have been in the last four years.

The Ravens were revitalized in the offseason after Jackson agreed to a five-year, $260 million contract extension in April, a month after he asked for a trade. The addition of Todd Monken as offensive coordinator has changed Jackson and the Ravens’ approach. Jackson has had more freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage, and he has thrived at running the offense.

Jackson set a career high in passing yards with 3,678 and threw just seven interceptions while being part of 29 total touchdowns.

His Ravens teammates say Jackson is focused on winning a title.

He’s been the “same since the minute he stepped in here,” wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “His eyes are on that prize. His approach, if anything, he looks even more focused and locked in than ever. He’s the leader, the heart and soul of this team.”

Ravens safety Geno Stone said Jackson tells the team how much he wants to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Baltimore.

“I know since [Jackson] got drafted, he said he always wanted to bring a Super Bowl here, so I think that’s what he’s been trying to do his whole career,” Stone said. “All the accomplishments he’s had individually, he likes it [and] everything like that, but he always preaches how he wants a Super Bowl.”

When you look at the remaining quarterbacks in the playoffs there is one who has nothing left to prove (Patrick Mahomes), three who are in their first or second year as a starter (C.J. Stroud, Brock Purdy and Jordan Love) and two reclamation projects without many expectations (Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff).

Then, there is Jackson and Josh Allen. They are two of the top quarterbacks of this generation but have not won a title. They are the two quarterbacks who come into this weekend with the most pressure. But it feels like Jackson has even more pressure on him because there are higher expectations for his team.

Jackson has lost in the divisional round twice. A win this time around can change his legacy and kills the ghosts of 2019.