Lamar Jackson's one crippling issue inevitably cost the Baltimore Ravens in playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens lost 25-27 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday as tight end Mark Andrews dropped the game-tying two-point conversion attempt with 1:33 remaining. While it would be easy to point the finger of blame at Andrews, or make this game all about how Lamar Jackson "can't win the big one" […]
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens lost 25-27 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday as tight end Mark Andrews dropped the game-tying two-point conversion attempt with 1:33 remaining. While it would be easy to point the finger of blame at Andrews, or make this game all about how Lamar Jackson "can't win the big one" or some other foolish narrative, the game really came down to one far too familiar issue.
Lamar Jackson put up an MVP caliber season this year. There's no debate about it. His 2024 season was truly special. However, one crippling issue cost the Ravens in multiple losses this year, and it cost them yet again on Sunday, this time against the Bills.
Fumbles.
As Jackson ranted about in his post-game interview session, he has to "hold on to the f—ing ball." Yes, his deep interception early in the game was costly, but not as much as his fumble. The sack and fumble recovery by Von Miller that happened as Jackson was frantically trying to make something happen led to an easy score for the Bills as their drive started on the Ravens' 24-yard line.
It may have seemed surprising to some NFL fans to hear Jackson act as though this was a familiar problem saying, "This s—'s annoying. I'm tired of this s—." However, Ravens fans are all too familiar with Lamar's fumbling problem.
Lamar Jackson posted a fantastic season in terms of his passing touchdowns (41) to interception (4) ratio, which is why he was in the MVP conversation all year long. But he also lost 10 fumbles on the year. 2024 marked his second consecutive season with double-digit fumbles. He's also lost at least five fumbles every single year of his career.
In fact, Lamar Jackson has lost more fumbles than nearly every other quarterback in the league since he was drafted in 2018 except for two: Josh Allen and Kirk Cousins. The difference against the Bills? Josh Allen didn't fumble the ball away in his own territory. Jackson did.
Josh Allen has cleaned up his fumbling problem over the last two seasons, losing 12 in the last two years combined. Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson has lost 21 in the last two seasons, more than any other quarterback in the NFL in that span.
It's a shame that the Ravens' season had to end like it did. An interception. A Lamar fumble. A Mark Andrews fumble. A dropped two-point conversion at the end of the game by Mark Andrews. Those mistakes will almost certainly overshadow the fact that Lamar Jackson valiantly led the Ravens on a ferocious comeback following early game frustrations.
Jackson led two 80+ yard drives on his final three possessions of the game, impressively winning through the air and on the ground. It just wasn't enough to overcome the turnovers. Hopefully Lamar Jackson (and Mark Andrews) can clean up the fumbling issues in the future and be right back here again next season.
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