The Baltimore Ravens send the Miami Dolphins home with a humbling, underlining their strong form. So Super Bowl victory is all about Lamar Jackson and his colleagues.
The Baltimore Ravens’ final points against the Miami Dolphins were somewhat indicative of the entire game. Instead of running out the clock and kicking a final field goal, Tyler Huntley was allowed to throw a pass, found Charlie Kolar in the end zone and cracked the 50-point mark. Everything went right that afternoon.
Huntley? Kolar? It was the backups who provided the final moments of the game. Lamar Jackson and his colleagues had already called it a day by then and enjoyed watching the game come to an end from outside. The performances beforehand had certainly been enough to send a clear signal to the competition:
The Super Bowl victory this year only goes through the Ravens!
The dismantling of the Dolphins, after all the first runner-up in the AFC, underlined the current exceptional position of the team from Baltimore. Whether on the ground or through the air, whether with short passes or deep bombs – the offense with an outstanding Jackson drove the Dolphins’ defense to despair.
The Ravens are now on a run of six consecutive wins, having already thrashed the San Francisco 49ers the previous week and ended any discussion of a possible MVP in Brock Purdy, who was completely dismantled by coordinator Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Speaking of MVP: With the recent performances and especially the game against the Dolphins, Jackson may have decisively set himself apart from his rivals, especially since his only real competitor Christian McCaffrey went without a touchdown in the 49ers’ win in Washington.
Lamar Jackson plays at MVP level
Jackson’s work record on Silverstone Day: 18/21 passes completed, 321 yards and five (!) touchdowns. That resulted in a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Fun fact: Huntley also reached that mark with his late touchdown on his only pass attempt ever. That’s never happened before.
In any case, Jackson is playing a season that is strongly reminiscent of his MVP year in 2019. Although he is only in the middle of the league with 3,678 passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns, his seven interceptions are by far the fewest of any quarterback who has played every game.
And the 26-year-old also traditionally thrives on his qualities on the ground. His 821 rushing yards are the most of any quarterback and his scrambling is feared throughout the league. Time and again, he manages to extend plays that would end in a sack for almost all other playmakers.
Baltimore Ravens defy injury woes
With a quarterback like Jackson in this form, a strong defense that forces the most turnovers in the league, and a veteran head coach like John Harbaugh, all the ingredients are in place to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time in eleven years.
This run is all the more impressive given that the Ravens have been plagued by injuries again this year. Right at the start of the season, running back J.K. Dobbins ruptured his Achilles tendon, and in mid-November Mark Andrews, an absolute key player, was injured. And shooting star Keaton Mitchell has also been out for a few days.
But the Ravens keep finding solutions to deal with these setbacks. Against the Dolphins, Justice Hill was given a bigger role and thanked them with 112 scrimmage yards and a touchdown.
Baltimore Ravens can only beat themselves
At the moment, no team in the NFL seems to be a match for the Ravens. It looks like Baltimore can only beat themselves. But they have already proven that they can do that this season. The three defeats against the Colts, Steelers and Browns were at times outrageous and pure slapstick.
But that seems to be a thing of the past and the Ravens have looked extremely stable in recent weeks. If they maintain this form and are spared further injuries, a Super Bowl victory will only come through them
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