Nick Wass/Associated Press
Pretty was just about the last thing you’d call it, but the Los Angeles Chargers are headed to New England.
Philip Rivers threw for 160 yards, and the Chargers defense ruined Lamar Jackson’s postseason debut on their way to a 23-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday’s Wild Card Round matchup.
The Ravens accounted for just 229 total yards of offense, with Jackson failing his first playoff test. The rookie finished with 194 yards and two touchdowns against an interception on 14-of-29 passing. Nearly all of Jackson’s output came with the Ravens down multiple scores, though Baltimore did have a potential game-winning drive end on a Jackson fumble.
Los Angeles also did a nice job of bottling up Baltimore’s rushing attack, holding the team to 90 yards. The Ravens had obliterated the NFL over Jackson’s first seven starts, averaging 229.6 yards on the ground.
Lamar Jackson’s Inability to Throw Football a Long-Term Concern for Ravens
Jackson completed 47.1 percent of his passes in high school.
Jackson completed 57.0 percent of his passes in college.
Jackson completed 58.2 percent of his passes as a rookie.
We have three levels’ worth of evidence to suggest Jackson is a below-average-to-awful passer. The Chargers exposed him throughout Sunday, loading up the box and daring the Ravens to take chances down the field.
They never did.
Baltimore kept running the football even down multiple scores. Jackson eventually got the offense going a bit in garbage time with a touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree, but it was too little and too late. There was no point in the fourth quarter when it felt realistic the Ravens could make a comeback.
John Harbaugh’s lack of faith in Jackson throwing the ball should be the most jarring aspect. Rookies have bad games all the time. The fact that the Ravens threw the ball zero times on a drive following a Chargers fumble when they were down 12-3 speaks volumes.
Jackson does things with his legs no other quarterback can. That has special value. His scramble and heave to Kenneth Dixon in the fourth quarter was one of the most impressive displays of quarterback athleticism you’ll see all year. It was also a terrible duck pass that should have been intercepted. It was a Patrick Mahomes play if Mahomes were playing through a torn rotator cuff.
If you’re looking for answers, I have none. Jackson is better than Joe Flacco. The Ravens took off with him under center during the regular season and mounted a spirited comeback against a clearly-too-lax Chargers defense.
It’s just clear there is also a ceiling to what a team with Jackson under center can accomplish. There’s also no real evidence he’ll get much better as a passer.
Those highlights sure are fun, though.
Philip Rivers Needs to Perform Better to Have Chance vs. Patriots
Rivers has a pretty dreadful postseason resume, and he did nothing to assuage concerns about his January capabilities Sunday. The Chargers had one pass all game go for more than 17 yards. Rivers was manning the S.S. Checkdown as the Ravens pass rush came flying in; five different Chargers pass-catchers had a long reception of less than 10 yards.
His 80.2 quarterback rating was below his already-shaky career mark (85.2). Matthew Judon was a particular thorn in Rivers’ side, hitting him five times to help force the underneath throws.
A ton of the credit goes to the Ravens defense. Baltimore finished third in regular-season defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) against the pass, according to Football Outsiders. Only the Chicago Bears held opposing quarterbacks to a lower passer rating during the regular season. Rivers’ mark was almost exactly how an average quarterback (80.6) fared against the Ravens this season.
Average won’t cut it in a trip to New England. The Patriots are not as feared as they were even a year ago, but they’re the NFL’s only unbeaten team at home and have reached the AFC Championship Game seven straight years.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick handed Rivers his first two career playoff losses more than a decade ago. He’s not thrown a touchdown in 69 career postseason attempts against New England.
Rivers is going to have to be much better than he was Sunday to shake those demons.
What’s Next?
The Chargers travel to New England to play the Patriots in their divisional-round matchup.
from Viral News Show http://bit.ly/2AxxoY2
0 Comments