Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has reached the postseason four times, and four times he has been at his worst. The six-year veteran won just the second playoff game of his career last week, but the Kansas City Chiefs bounced the Ravens out on Sunday evening.
Scott Kacsmar points out a striking pattern. In each of Jackson’s four postseason runs, his offense has put up its worst performance of the year. While that may not sound shocking, he notes that it is a distinct outlier in history.
The Ravens managed just 10 points on Sunday against the NFL’s third-ranked scoring defense. That tied for their season low of 10 points in a 17-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore also lost to the Steelers by the same margin in the finale, but Jackson rested that game.
Jackson’s last postseason appearance was in 2020. He recorded his first playoff win in a 20-3 victory over the Tennessee Titans. But then his offense sputtered in a 17-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The lowest they scored in the regular season that year was 14—in a loss to the Steelers.
A year earlier, the Titans were the team to hand the Ravens offense its worst outing. While Tennessee put up 28 points, Jackson’s unit managed 12. Yet in every single regular-season game, they scored at least 20 points. It was one of the great offensive seasons in history at 33.2 points per game.
The 2018 season marked Jackson’s first playoff game as a rookie. He only took over as a starter in Week 11, but the offense produced 20 or more points every week. Until they ran into the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round, losing 23-17.
There are caveats, of course. Some glaring ones in the case of the 2023 AFC Championship Game loss. After all, Jackson had WR Zay Flowers at the goal line in the fourth quarter. The rookie allowed the defense to strip the ball from his hands. It should have been 17-14, denied through no fault of his own.
At the same time, that 17-10 loss to the Steelers in the regular season came with caveats as well. Both WR Rashod Bateman and TE Mark Andrews dropped passes in the end zone that should have been touchdowns. Pro Football Focus gave him the highest quarterback grade that week against the Steelers.
The fact of the matter is that Jackson’s teams have put up the lowest point totals all season in their biggest games. That is now a four-year, 100-percent pattern and is unprecedented. Tom Brady is the only notable quarterback to do that more than three times. He did it five times—but in 20 postseason appearances, a 25-percent rate.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger never did that in his 12 postseason appearances. Aaron Rodgers has never done it in 11 postseason appearances. Drew Brees, only once in 10 trips. Peyton Manning did it three times in 15 postseason appearances.
The fact is perception dictates that quarterbacks own their postseason records. Jackson is 2-4 in the postseason through his first six seasons. His teams have been held to 17 points or fewer four times. His 34-10 win over the Houston Texans last week is the glaring exception. It’s on him to change the narrative.
