Good news for the Browns, and two other AFC North teams as well in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.
It is that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is exactly who we thought he was, an unbelievable, regular-season player — the unquestioned Most Valuable Player of the NFL — but then a guy who, in the playoffs, turns into Paul McDonald, Bubby Brister and Akili Smith.
So, the Ravens can do all these great things during the regular season based on Jackson’s ability, but, as evidenced by their 17-10 loss to the visiting Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, they continue to struggle in the playoffs because he can’t transition that into the games that really count. It’s an incredible tease, and one that Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has to figure out going forward. Jackson is their franchise quarterback, and as such he’s not going anywhere, so they have to come up with a way to get him to avoid all the negative plays that he makes during a game, including things like throwing into triple coverage at the very end and having the ball intercepted in the end zone to seal the deal for the Chiefs.
The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are going back to the big game because they have the best quarterback in the game in Patrick Mahomes, the best head coach in the game in Andy Reid and a tremendous defense that was the story of the day from the winners’ standpoint.
Plus, the Chiefs don’t have Lamar Jackson, and as we keep pointing out, when it comes to the postseason, that’s a real plus.
Steve King