Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, will try to shake off a troubled history in playoff games when the NFL post-season begins on Saturday. The first round of the playoffs starts Saturday with the Los Angeles Chargers at Houston and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore, where Jackson hopes to improve on his 2-4 career post-season record.
“I’m just too excited, that’s all,” Jackson said. “Too antsy, that’s all. I’m seeing things before it happens, like, ‘Oh, I have to calm myself down.’ But just being more experienced, I’ve found a way to balance it out.” Sunday’s games find Denver at Buffalo, Green Bay at Philadelphia and Washington at Tampa Bay, with the Los Angeles Rams to face Minnesota on Monday. The NFL is monitoring developments with the devastating wildfires near Los Angeles and could move the Rams-Vikings clash to Glendale, Arizona, if necessary.
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Two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City and the Detroit Lions have first-round byes after finishing the season as top seeds. Jackson, the reigning NFL MVP, is 70-24 in NFL regular-season games with a 64.9 completion rate and two sacks per contest, but in the playoffs, he has a 57.4 percent completion rate, six touchdowns, and six interceptions and is sacked 4.3 times a game. The Ravens average 16 points a playoff game behind Jackson compared to 27.4 points in the regular season.
Jackson is among six NFL quarterbacks with a .700 win percentage over the past 55 years but the only one with a losing playoff record. “You have to try to be mistake-free,” Jackson said. “The game is won with the turnover battle and keeping the ball in your control — moving the ball down the field, getting first downs, putting points on the board — that’s how you win those games.”
This season, Jackson threw for a career-best 4,172 yards, threw for a career-high 41 touchdowns with only four interceptions, and was the first player to lead the NFL in pass yards per attempt with 8.8 and rushing yards per attempt with 6.6. “We’re who we are based on what we’ve done and our hard work,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. “We want to keep building on that and play our best football right now.”
Zay Flowers, the Ravens’ top receiver with 1,059 yards, will miss the Steelers game with a knee injury suffered last week against Cleveland. “We’ve still got a lot of weapons and Lamar will distribute the ball as he sees fit,” Harbaugh said. The Ravens still boast Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman, and Isaiah Likely as top targets for Jackson, plus Derrick Henry, who ran for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
“It’s great to be in this position,” Andrews said. “We’ve been trending in the right direction and getting better every week.” The Steelers have lost five playoff games in a row since last winning one in 2016 and ended the season with four consecutive defeats.
### Hurts still recovering
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts resumed practice in a limited capacity but remained in NFL concussion protocol ahead of Sunday’s playoff game against the Packers. Hurts had not been on a football gridiron since a loss to Washington last month where he suffered a concussion on a first-quarter run.
“He looked great,” Eagles offensive guard Mekhi Becton said. “He looked like Jalen.” “It was awesome,” added Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson. “He was dialed in.” Hurts threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay in a 34-29 victory in Brazil on the first week of the NFL season in September.
The Eagles also boast NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley, who had 2,005 rushing yards and rested last week rather than chase the NFL one-season record. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love practiced after an elbow injury last week and is expected to play, but the Packers will be without wide receiver Christian Watson due to a knee injury.
© 2024 AFP
