Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson ‘not happy’ with Ravens’ passing offense
“No, I’m not happy because I would like to connect with my guys on those passes,” Jackson said Wednesday. “I feel like there are a lot of yards and touchdowns we’ve been leaving on the field when we don’t connect. That’s probably why our passing isn’t where it’s supposed to be. But I feel it’s early in the season.”
No reigning NFL MVP quarterback has finished lower than 27th in passing. There have been only four instances when a reigning NFL MVP QB has finished 20th or worse in passing: Joe Theismann in 1983 (20th), Rich Gannon in 2002 (tied for 27th), Aaron Rodgers in 2015 (tied for 25th) and Cam Newton in 2015 (21st), according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Ravens have averaged 180.8 yards passing; only the New York Jets (179.5) are worse. This is a decrease from 2019, when Baltimore finished 27th in passing (201.6).
Jackson did not practice Wednesday, and the Ravens did not give an explanation for his absence. Robert Griffin III was taking first-team reps.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said producing 300 yards passing per game is not his team’s standard for success.
“There are a lot of things we can get better at,” Harbaugh said. “You work on all those things all the time and try to improve as best you can. We understand what the issues are, and we study them very closely. It’s not something I really want to broadcast.”
Jackson’s accuracy has improved slightly. His completion rate is 68.4%, which is up from 66.1% last season.
The biggest problem has been connecting on his deep throws, which was a focus of his in the offseason. Jackson has completed 5 of 16 passes (31.3%) that have traveled at least 20 yards in the air, which ranks 26th in the NFL.
“We’re just not hitting them,” Jackson said. “We just need to get in practice and start connecting there, and then it will transition over to the game. We’ll be fine.”
Jackson’s rushing has declined as well. He has gone from an average of 80.4 yards rushing per game to 58.8 this season.
Jackson has noticed how defenses have played Baltimore differently this season.
“They’re just trying run straight to the line of scrimmage before I can get past our line or get by the middle linebackers or outside linebackers,” Jackson said. “They’re just running downhill pretty good. We’re going to find ways to fix it.”