Many people lauded the Baltimore Ravens‘ Christmas Day matchup with the San Francisco 49ers as a Super Bowl preview, which put that much more pressure on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens to deliver.
But it seems that Jackson and Co. prefer it that way.
“I believe we play better under pressure,” Jackson said, via Jamison Hensley ESPN. “We keep our poise. We stay locked in no matter how the game may seem, no matter what the crowd noise is [and] no matter how hard the defense is hitting us. I don’t think anybody plays like us. We just need to keep playing that way [and] keep playing the Raven way.”
Baltimore certainly did that in Week 16.
The Ravens led the 49ers by a score of 16-12 at halftime but then blitzed San Francisco with 17 unanswered points in the third quarter, taking a 33-12 lead into the fourth.
They ultimately won 33-19 to capture the best record in the NFL at 12-3, and Jackson further solidified his status atop the MVP race in the process.
Jackson went 23-for-35 with 252 yards and a couple of touchdowns while carrying the ball seven times for 45 yards in the win.
On the season overall, the 26-year-old has thrown for 3,357 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 66.3 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 97.2. In addition, he has rushed for 786 yards and five scores while averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Jackson and the Ravens have been in a similar position before. In 2019, Baltimore finished with the league’s best mark at 14-2 and Jackson won the MVP award.
However, the Ravens were eliminated from the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Obviously, Lamar Jackson is planning for a different result this time around, and if he and his team truly play better under pressure, they should have no problem achieving it.
Baltimore will take on the Miami Dolphins next weekend. The Ravens will clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC and secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they come away with a victory.
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