Ravens Cannot Afford to Waste MVP-Caliber Season from Lamar Jackson

The Baltimore Ravens had a chance to make a statement against a quality opponent on Sunday. For the second time in three weeks, quarterback Lamar Jackson helped the Ravens jump out to a big lead.

The Ravens couldn't close out the game for the second time in three weeks, as the Bills scored the final 20 points to win.

The Ravens collapsed at home and in Miami over the weekend.

If Baltimore continues to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, the team risks wasting another great season from their most valuable player. It could prove to be a huge mistake since Jackson will get a huge amount of money in the coming months.

Jackson was the best quarterback in the league in the first three games.

Jackson carried the ball 26 times and averaged 9.3 yards per attempt. Jackson was fifth in the league in rushing at the start of the season.

He had more yards on the ground than all but one of the other running backs in the league.

Jackson's improvement as a passer has really stood out so far this season. Greg Roman said that Jackson is maturing in that aspect of the game.

The game is slowing down for him, Roman1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 He trusts his line. He's a wise man who learns from experience. His maturity at the position is a natural evolution for him.

There is room for more growth and experience, but he is showing a lot of flexibility which is exciting.

For his part, Jackson credited good old-fashioned hard work for his improvement.

Jackson said there was a lot of studying and work going on on the field. That's all that's left. I feel like I'm alright.

The problem is that as many times as not, Jackson's hard work has been wasted.

Jackson had his worst game of the season against the Bills. Jackson did not have a passing touchdown, nor did he have a passing touchdown and a pair of picks. He had a passer rating of just 63.0.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. The weather in Baltimore was so bad that the remnants of Hurricane Ian made it worse. Josh Allen had a passer rating of 68.6.

The second caveat was that the first Jackson interception was on a tipped pass, and the second was on a terrible decision by John Harbaugh to go for it on fourth-and- goal late in the game. Jackson had to make a move.

Coach. There is a man on your team. It's just a statement.

Jackson was still electric even though he was struggling to throw the ball. Jackson avoided a sack when the Bills had him dead to rights.

It's not possible to do that on an NFL field.

The defense let Jackson down again. The Ravens gave up 326 yards of offense, but it's not a bad number. The defense couldn't get stops when it needed to on a day when the Ravens had the ball for over three hours.

This is not the first time that has happened.

The Ravens returned the opening kick for a touchdown and went on to win the game. The Ravens led 35-21 at the start of the third quarter.

Baltimore lost 42-38 because the defense was gashed to the tune of 547 yards and six touchdown passes by Jackson.

After that implosion, defensive lineman Calais Campbell admitted to reporters that the Ravens had a lot to clean up.

A lot of stuff is going to be cleaned up. We have to take responsibility for our mistakes. It is part of the game. There are no excuses for this part of the season. It is necessary for us to wear that one. They beat us but it hurts.

We're not going to let this happen again. We're regrouping. We look at the tape and figure out what happened.

Well, the Ravens absolutely did let it beat them twice. And after the latest defensive meltdown, cornerback Marcus Peters had one of his own on the sideline.

Ari Meirov @MySportsUpdate

Marcus Peters and HC John Harbaugh exchanged some words on the sideline before Buffalo's game-winning FG. CBS showed a small part of it.pic.twitter.com/FgDLvvPSk3

The Ravens have not been able to put teams away because of the defense. The Baltimore offense is currently being led by Jackson. The run game has slowed down outside of him.

The non-Jackson ball-carriers ran for 89 yards against the Bills. Jackson had more rushing yards entering Week 4 than the next closest runner.

Jackson cannot single-handedly carry an entire team for 17 games. It's just not possible. He is in need of assistance.

The ground game will get on track if JK Dobbins works hard. The defense is more important than anything else.

The Ravens appear to have better personnel on that side of the ball, but games are not played on paper. Baltimore's defense is terrible.

The first month of the season has shown Jackson to be a human highlight reel. He's one of the most dangerous players in the league with the ball in his hands, and he's throwing the ball better than he ever has.

Jackson is not able to do it all himself. If the Ravens don't solve their problems quickly, they will miss the playoffs for a second year in a row and lose Jackson's contract.

Jackson's salary will increase and there will be difficult personnel decisions.