Analysis: Lamar Jackson looks almost flawless vs. Giants as Ravens turn focus to Steelers

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — A talking to from his mother seemed to bring out the best in Lamar Jackson.

After a loss to Philadelphia earlier this month, Jackson said his mom cursed him out, telling him he missed opportunities to run. That wasn’t a problem in Sunday’s 35-14 victory over the New York Giants.

Jackson’s five touchdown passes were the big story, but he also ran for 65 yards on six carries. He actually rushed for more yards (79) against the Eagles, but that was only because of a late 39-yard run with the game pretty much out of reach. This past weekend was only the fourth time this season he has surpassed 60 yards rushing.

“That bye week, I felt like we all needed that, and our guys were just ready,” Jackson said. “They just blocked their tail off.”

It might be tough to surpass Josh Allen in this season’s MVP race, but Jackson certainly is making a bid with a passer rating of 120.7, 34 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. Jackson’s running ability has been well documented, of course, but as he’s become a more potent passer. He might be a bit more prone to let plays develop instead of taking off.

That’s sometimes the right move and sometimes isn’t. Against the Giants, he made good decisions throughout and recovered quickly from an early fumble.

Now Baltimore (9-5) moves on to its biggest game of the season. The Ravens need a win Saturday against Pittsburgh to pull even in the AFC North race. If the Steelers win, they would clinch the division.

“I always talk to the guys about the big picture. We talk briefly about the big picture, then we always come back to 1-0,” coach John Harbaugh said. “The big picture is this is our opportunity to win the division, and we have to win this game to have an opportunity to win the division and then do everything we can do to be 1-0 and put our best foot forward.”

Jackson became the first player in NFL history to complete 80% of his passes for at least 250 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. He finished 21 of 25 for 290 yards and a passer rating of 154.6.

Jackson is also up to 6,001 yards rushing. He’s closing in on Mike Vick’s record for a quarterback of 6,109.

The Ravens have lost four straight to Pittsburgh, including an 18-16 defeat earlier this season. Baltimore turned the ball over three times in that game and missed a late 2-point conversion that would have tied it.

“They’ve created plays against us,” Harbaugh said. “They’ve had sacks. They’ve had some timely sacks, some timely turnovers and timely stops. They’ve managed to do that, and that’s what it is. That’s what winning games is. They’ve done a good job of that.”