Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has come close. But there’s no trophy to put in cases for “almost.” Despite being a two-time MVP winner with a chance to win a third this year, Jackson’s yet to play for Super Bowl glory. Falling just shy against the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round last Sunday, Jackson’s developing a reputation as someone who can’t get over the hump. His teammates think it’s just a matter of time.
“It’s inevitable. He’s going to win a Super Bowl, and I want to be a part of it,” FB Patrick Ricard said via the Ravens website’s Ryan Mink following the loss.
So far, Jackson and the Ravens have failed to get to a Super Bowl much less hoist a Lombardi. He’s now 3-5 in the postseason with a completion percentage that’s nosedived and an interception rate that’s skyrocketed.
Lamar Jackson’s Numbers – Regular Season
64.9-percent completion rate
6.4-percent touchdown rate
1.9-percent interception rate
Lamar Jackson’s Numbers – Postseason
60.6-percent completion rate
4.1-percent touchdown rate
2.9-percent interception rate
Jackson added two more turnovers in the Bills loss, a bad interception where he admittedly misread the deep safety and a fumble while trying to do too much to save face after a bad snap. Baltimore turned the ball over three times, critical mistakes in a two-point loss. Jackson’s mistakes alone didn’t cost them the game and a dropped two-point conversion by TE Mark Andrews was a defining moment.
“It’s not on him,” RB Derrick Henry said of Jackson. “Forget what anybody else outside of what we [have] going on says. We believe in him, and we’ll always [have] his back.”
Since the loss, Jackson has predictably taken more heat as a regular season quarterback unable to win clutch moments. In 2023, he lost to Patrick Mahomes. In 2024, it was Josh Allen just as it was in 2020.
Of course, these games are won and lost as a team. And there’s always other areas to point to for why Baltimore has lost these games. Winning a Super Bowl is hard, especially in an era with Patrick Mahomes, the new Tom Brady. Ben Roethlisberger encountered similar difficulty with Peyton Manning and Brady throughout his career. Had they not existed, Roethlisberger could’ve matched Terry Bradshaw’s four rings.
“He’s still young. He’s definitely going to get one at some point,” Ricard said.
Having just turned 28, Jackson will have plenty more bites at the apple. Given how close they’ve come, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Ravens break through one season. But the longer it takes, the more questions there will be. And if Jackson can’t get there, he’ll become the only multi-MVP winner not to never win a Super Bowl or NFL Championship. It would be one of the biggest resume blemishes of the modern era, making him a present-day Dan Marino.
