Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson knows a thing or two about being perfect. With another such performance Sunday in a 41-10 blowout win over the Denver Broncos, Jackson tied an NFL record previously held solo by former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.
With as many touchdowns as incompletions, three apiece, and 280 passing yards, Jackson finished the game with a 158.3 passer rating. Perfect as far as the NFL is concerned. It was the fourth occasion of his career, tying Roethlisberger for the most in NFL history.
Jackson finished the win going 16-of-19 for 280 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Denver came into the game with one of the NFL’s third-best defenses and kept things close for the first 20 minutes, down 10-7 after rookie QB Bo Nix caught a touchdown pass on fourth down.
But it was Jackson who spent the rest of the day throwing them. From that point, the Ravens outscored the Broncos 31-3. Jackson found WR Zay Flowers for a pair of touchdowns before halftime, including a 53-yarder with seconds left where Denver seemed disinterested in trying to tackle him.
RB Derrick Henry would get going in the second half, starting off the third quarter with a six-yard scoring rush that pushed Baltimore’s advantage to 21 points. Jackson threw his third score to put a stamp on the victory, hitting FB Patrick Ricard in the right flat for a three-yard score.
Backup Josh Johnson took the final kneel downs to close out the rout. Jackson is making the case to win his third MVP, up to 20 touchdowns to just two interceptions this season. In last year’s MVP campaign, he threw for just 24 touchdowns across 16 starts. Sunday’s win was a rare moment where Jackson didn’t need to use his legs, rushing three times for just four yards. He again proved he could win without his legs and leads the NFL in several categories: Adjusted Yards per Attempt, QB Rating, and Adjusted Net Yards Per Passing attempt.
It was Jackson’s first perfect game of the season and fourth of his career. He registered a pair in 2019, the Ravens cruising to victories over the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals. He routed the Dolphins again last year, throwing for five touchdowns in a 56-19 win. His performance against Denver broke a multi-way tie of quarterbacks with three perfect games, a list that included headliner names like Otto Graham, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady. Now, Jackson and Roethlisberger are the only ones with four.
Roethlisberger’s first came in 2005 against the Tennessee Titans. Throwing just 11 passes all day, two of his nine completions went for scores, including a 63-yarder to WR Antwaan Randle El. Despite the limited number of throws, he went for 218 yards and reached the perfect barrier. There is some debate over if this game “counts” depending on the minimum number of attempts you require. If you use 15, then Jackson owns the record. If you use 10, they’re tied.
Roethlisberger did it twice in 2007, five touchdowns in a primetime beatdown of the Baltimore Ravens, the same game James Harrison had the subjective “perfect” defensive game. Roethlisberger did the same to the St. Louis Rams, throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns. His final perfect game came more than a decade later, tossing five touchdown passes in a Thursday night 52-21 affair against the Carolina Panthers.
Jackson will have ample time to break Roethlisberger’s mark. While both sit at four, Jackson’s achieved the feat in just seven seasons. Roethlisberger needed 18. Hopefully, Jackson won’t hit No. 5 and hold the outright record in his two upcoming meetings against the Steelers. Based on Pittsburgh’s performance against him, Jackson holding a career QB rating of 66.8 against them, the Steelers shouldn’t be too concerned.
