Lamar Jackson broke out in 2019 to the tune of becoming one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks and winning the MVP award. It was a huge year for the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback and silenced a ton of doubters from his rookie year. Now, expectations are sky high for the 2020 NFL season.
During the 2019 season, Jackson ended up completing 66.1 percent of his pass attempts for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. He also racked up 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Needless to say, those numbers earned him the MVP award without question.
Looking ahead to the upcoming NFL season, there are quite a few reasons to be excited for Jackson and the Ravens.
Unfortunately, the team’s 2019 season ended in disappointing fashion with a rough loss in the playoffs at the hands of the Tennessee Titans. Baltimore was the best team in the NFL during the regular season and once again, were unable to prove that they deserved respect in the postseason.
Jackson struggled a bit against the Titans, throwing two interceptions, but still put up big numbers outside of the turnovers. There will absolutely be a chip on his shoulder coming into 2020.
ESPN has shared their projections for his 2020 season and they believe fans should be expecting a bit of a dip from a production standpoint from the Ravens’ quarterback.
At this point in time, they have Jackson throwing for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Obviously, that is an increase in overall passing yards, but they have him dropping by 10 touchdown passes and increasing by four interceptions. Some will disagree with the projection, but it makes sense.
There is no doubt that Jackson was playing at a completely different level in 2019. In some ways, he was playing above what most thought he was capable of. Jackson could make ESPN eat their projections, but they are reasonable.
Expect to see Lamar Jackson come out looking to dominate the league once again with the bad taste of last year’s playoff loss still in his mouth. The Ravens are going to be a massive threat once again in the AFC, but will have stiff competition in the Kansas City Chiefs especially.
