BALTIMORE -- Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens' quarterback, beat the Kansas City Chiefs (and his self-described "kryptonite") for the first time with a touchdown and a crucial fourth-down conversion on Sunday night. It was a thrilling 36-35 win.
After three losses, Jackson led the short-handed Ravens to victory over Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) by running for 113 yards as well as throwing for 239 yards.
Baltimore was down several injured players to begin the fourth quarter and trailed by 11 (35-24) points. Jackson ran for two touchdowns and a flip into zone for the winning 1-yard score.
John Harbaugh, the Ravens' coach, celebrated Jackson's emotional win by hugging him on the field.
Jackson said that it felt good to let go of the monkey on his back after three of eight losses in regular season against Kansas City. "We have to get on to Detroit now. We haven't won the Super Bowl yet, it's only one game. We have to keep our eyes on the prize and not lose sight of it.
With one of their most unlikely victories, the Ravens have evened out their record to 1-1. Baltimore was forced to play without Ronnie Stanley, All-Pro left tackle, and its top two running backs, and rookie wide receiver, and first-round pick Rashod bateman due to injuries. There were also a dozen other players on injured reserve.
The Ravens had Jackson, and he gave them the confidence to beat the AFC champions. Harbaugh shouted at Jackson, asking if Baltimore should try fourth-and-1 from its own 43 yard line.
"I'm like, "Hell, yes!"" Jackson explained the situation after the game. Jackson said, "I said it again."
Jackson ran up the middle defense and took the snap in the pistol-formation. He then put his head down for a 2-yard gain that ended the game.
Jackson made a brave run and Harbaugh made a remarkable call. According to ESPN Stats and Information research, this was only the second occasion that a team had gone for it on fourth down within the last two minutes of a game, when they were leading by less than one field goal.
Harbaugh would go for it, was there no doubt?
Harbaugh stated, "No, there wasn’t." "But I think that I wanted to make sure myself, you understand? "I knew Jackson would say yes, but it was the point we were going for."
Jackson was the first Super Bowl quarterback to record 100 yards of rushing and two rushing touchdowns over multiple games. With his 11th (including playoffs) rushing game, Jackson tied Michael Vick for most 100-yard games.
Jackson didn't manage to make this a record-setting performance. Jackson threw two interceptions during the first quarter, with a pick-6 on his second attempt.
Jackson was visibly upset after the second intercept. He threw down his helmet on the sideline.
Jackson stated, "I know how my team will look at me." Jackson said, "If I'm just messing around, they're going be like, "God damn, What are you doing?" My guys need me to be there for them. My guys have my back. They were like, "Man, you're great; you got that out of the way." Let's just have fun. I thought, "You're right, I have to play now." It's done. That's it.
Jackson settled down and threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Hollywood Brown in the third quarter. He then made his greatest comeback.
Jackson had a record of 0-6 career games when he was trailing by more than 11 points in the fourth quarter (including playoffs). His last greatest comeback was three point (Week 5, 2019 at Pittsburgh Steelers).
Jackson's 1-yard touchdown at high speed with 3:14 left gave the Ravens their first lead. It was enough to give them a commanding lead.
Ravens tight end Mark Andrews stated, "He's amazing, man." "That's the man right there. He put the team on his shoulders so many times tonight, it's hard to explain.
