No-one was more mad with the Baltimore Ravens’ loss than Lamar Jackson’s mum.
The Philadelphia Eagles escaped with a 24-19 victory over the Ravens at the M&T Bank Stadium as they improved to a 10-2 record with Jackson’s-side now 8-5.
Baltimore had a strong start but could not keep the momentum going as another disappointing day of kicking from Justin Tucker contributed to defeat.
It leaves the Ravens running out of games to chase down the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North title and at the risk of being dragged into the wildcard race.
When questioned about a day of missed opportunities to run the ball during the game, Jackson revealed his own mom was amongst the first critics.
“My momma just told me that,” said the reigning MVP in his post-game press conference. “She just cussed me out, so I’m mad. She said there were lanes I should’ve took and ran.”
“I was just trying to let guys develop routes and I was just trying to go through my progressions,” said the Ravens star.
“But yeah, she’s right.”
The quarterback, who now trails Josh Allen in the MVP odds race, spoke passionately about the game and even slammed the podium as he revealed his frustration about not winning these tight games.
This mood was echoed by tight-end Mark Andrews who said the players and coaches did not say “too much” other than a need to learn from the game while Jackson said, “I’m just mad. I just feel like we should win these games, but we’re not getting it done.”
The offence faced familiar issues with a struggle to get to the end zone despite accumulating 24 first downs and 372 yards.
This left kicker Tucker needing to make field goals from 40 yards in a season which has been worst yet as the eight-time All-Pro kicker missed two field goals and an extra point.
Leaving him with as many or more missed kicks than he had in each of the seasons between 2012 to 2017 along with the 2019 and 2021 season.
A field-goal percentage of 70.4% so far this season is as low as it has ever been with the nearest career low of 82.5% in 2015.
However, Jackson was quick to downplay the responsibility of loss on the 35-year-old arguing that Tucker should have never been put in these situations.
“That’s a pretty good team, don’t get me wrong, but I felt like we left stuff out there,” Jackson said.
“Should have put more points on the board. Shouldn’t have even put Tuck in those situations.”
Jackson summed up the game where had “mishaps,” like the fumbled snap and missed passes, but was quick to add that the mistakes were by “me and everyone — it’s a team sport.”
The Ravens now have a bye week with the New York Giants waiting for them after the short break and with their 8-5 record, Jackson is looking to get back on the field quickly.
“We gon’ get after it, I ain’t gonna lie to you.
“We gon’ get after it. I can’t wait for this [bye week] to get on. We’ve got the Giants coming up. … I’m just ready to go man.”
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