1. The League Figures Out Lamar Jackson

Let’s get a quick disclaimer out of the way: Lamar Jackson is incredible. He’s more than just 2019’s best player– he’s someone that has the talent to be the NFL’s best player for the next decade, or at least in the discussion for best player. 

With all of the talent that Jackson has, there is no avenue where he and the Ravens offense become entirely ineffective. There is no outcome, no parallel universe where Lamar Jackson with Greg Roman and John Harbaugh to help him, becomes less than a franchise quarterback. 

There is, however, a chance that with an entire season’s worth of tape on the Ravens’ new starting quarterback, some teams will figure a way to limit the game-breaking effect that Jackson had during the 2019 season. In fact, the last team that Jackson played might have already figured out a way to slow him down.

Despite all of the regular season success Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens had last season, their run was cut way shorter than just about anyone expected– courtesy of the Tennessee Titans. Yes, Jackson had over 500 total yards in that game, but Jackson looked beatable throughout that playoff contest, throwing two interceptions, fumbling once, and completing just under 53% of his passes.

As a result, the entire Baltimore offense struggled to find any momentum, scoring one touchdown the entire game and having to wait until the fourth quarter to get it. So much of what the Ravens offense was able to accomplish in 2019 was due to Jackson’s excellence through the air and on the ground. The Titans game shows what the consequence might be if Jackson is unable to produce at that excellent, MVP level.

He won’t be the inaccurate, turnover-prone player that he was in the 2019 playoffs all season in 2020. But Tennessee may have laid the blueprint for slowing Jackson down, and if Jackson can’t play at an MVP form, the entire offense might falter as a result.