OTL: Jackson In Line for a Third NFL MVP After Amazing Win in Cincy?

How about them Ravens? Baltimore won one of the most incredible games of the NFL season to the tune of 41-38. The Ravens put up 27 points in the second half and overtime. Lamar Jackson was a magician and the Ravens got a little lucky when it mattered most. We’re talking about a game that saw Jackson put up 348 yards in the air with four touchdowns, and 55 yards rushing too, by the way.

Did Lamar Jackson become the front-runner for the MVP? Derrick Henry certainly thinks so.

Derrick Henry said that was 3-time MVP stuff from Lamar Jackson, who showed why he’s the best player in the game. Jackson, meanwhile, was still angry about his botched snap. Admitted he was probably least excited guy in locker room.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) October 6, 2024

It’s hard to argue with Henry on this one. Jackson had an answer for everything the Bengals threw at him. The Ravens won this game by the thinnest of margins with all the luck and favor fortune could bestow upon them. What goes unnoticed by looking at his gaudy numbers is the amount of negative plays that never happened because Jackson could find a way to whip up something out of nothing. Many Bills fans went back to home last Sunday still thinking Josh Allen was the MVP favorite. That was a bit silly. Now it’s hard to argue any name over Jackson. You know who might come the closest? Derrick Henry. He’s all smiles, as you can see in the tweet below:

This man smiled the whole 51-yd run to set up the win pic.twitter.com/2ZZa04XpsD

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 6, 2024

Derrick Henry wasn’t about to let Lamar Jackson hang his head after that win. “He’s the GOAT!”pic.twitter.com/zRBvF1odId

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) October 6, 2024

It’s great to see the chemistry between Jackson and Henry. The positive energy in this clip is infectious and the Ravens are being boosted by it in a big way.

Jonas Shaffer had a great article recapping the shootout in Cincinnati. This is what he wrote about Jackson’s performance:

What mattered was Jackson’s statistical brilliance: 26-for-42 passing for 348 yards and four touchdowns, plus 12 carries for 55 yards. What will endure, though, are the did-he-really-do-that highlights bound to live on in the NFL’s collective consciousness long after the box scores from Sunday’s games have been recycled into Most Valuable Player ballots.

Robert Griffin III shared some love for Jackson, dubbing him the best dual-threat quarterback in the league. He also included the video of the most improbable touchdown you’ll ever see. The ball is on the ground, Jackson picks it up, stiff-arms a DE, and scrambles until he throws an incredible pass to Isaiah Likely. Side note: It was a good day to be a tight end. Likely, Charlie Kolar and Mark Andrews all had big plays.

This play sums everything you need to know about Lamar Jackson. Unconventional in every way.
Special.
The Greatest Dual Threat QB Ever. @Lj_era8
pic.twitter.com/OQvOCUWZmU

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 6, 2024

The defensive hero of the contest (in a game where defense wasn’t always stomachable) was Marlon Humphrey. He had the key interception that made all of the late-game dramatics possible. There could be rain on his parade though. Jonas Shaffer reports that he left the locker room in a walking boot.

Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey, who declined to talk to reporters several times, left the locker room in a walking boot.

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) October 6, 2024

Humphrey seemed to be in great spirits in his usual post-game victory Instagram Live, for what it’s worth.

Justin Tucker had a clutch performance. Jeff Zrebiec scribed this on The Athletic about Tucker’s footing at this point in the season:

 The Ravens insisted they weren’t losing faith in Tucker, even as he missed seven of his past eight field-goal attempts from 50-plus yards. Baltimore insisted they had full confidence that Tucker would drill the next one. When the Ravens needed it, he stepped in and drilled a game-tying 56-yard field goal with 1:35 to play in regulation. He then won the game with a 24-yarder in overtime. The 3-2 Ravens have some issues. They are too mistake prone. Their high-priced secondary is a concern. Tucker, however, isn’t one of the team’s issues. — Zrebiec

It was good to see Tucker pull through in the moment. At one time the Ravens would have never even worried about the kick. It’s been an interesting start to the season for him and this may have been him pulling out of it.

Cowboys beat the Steelers in dramatic fashion pic.twitter.com/3w0lr0stxK

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 7, 2024

The Ravens were the only AFC North team to get a win on Sunday. After an 0-2, start the Ravens have reclaimed first place in the AFC North with three straight wins. Pittsburgh’s arrow seems to be pointing down. After a lengthy weather delay, the Steelers fell to the Cowboys 20-17. John Breech of CBS Sports gave the Steelers a B- for their performance, citing the takeaways the Steelers defense produced as positives for Mike Tomlin’s team. This is what Breech wrote:

Mike Tomlin is likely going to be scratching his head after this loss. The Steelers defense forced three turnovers and Pittsburgh came up with a blocked field goal, but despite the big plays, Tomlin’s team still lost. The biggest problem was an offense that generated just 226 yards of offense. Justin Fields completed just four passes during a first half where the Steelers only had one drive that went for more than 21 yards. The Steelers also couldn’t run the ball even though they were facing a Cowboys defense that’s been one of the worst in the NFL at stopping the run this year. Defensively, this game is going to leave a bad taste in Pittsburgh’s mouth. The defense let Dak Prescott throw two TD passes in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with just 20 seconds left. The Cowboys totaled 445 yards, which is the third-highest total the Steelers have surrendered since the start of the 2021 season. With two straight losses, the Steelers’ 3-0 start now seems like a distant memory.

This is a good way of framing what happened after the oddly long weather delay on Sunday Night Football. It was a strange game where neither team maintained momentum. The Steelers have a defense worth boasting about, even after they gave up the fourth-quarter lead. Pittsburgh didn’t do enough on offense and the dam had to break eventually. Pittsburgh has an uneven roster. The defense is doing their part of the bargain but the offense has only scored 92 points in five weeks. They may have something to hang their hat on, but if they can’t start scoring over 20 points per game, their problems may persist. The Ravens are now in first place in the AFC North.

It was a bad day for teams in Ohio as the Browns fell in a much less contested fashion then the Bengals. The one thing the Browns have that the Bengals couldn’t possibly have, is a quarterback controversy. Sports Illustrated’s Madison Williams wrote a report on the Browns situation with Deshaun Watson:

The Cleveland Browns, and specifically quarterback Deshaun Watson, struggled in Sunday’s 34–13 loss to the Washington Commanders, but coach Kevin Stefanski doesn’t plan to make a quarterback change any time soon. Watson was benched on the last drive of the game for backup Jameis Winston, which is what led people to wonder if Stefanski would go with Winston moving forward. However, Stefanski is sticking with Watson for the time being. “We’re not changing quarterbacks,” Stefanski said. “We need to play better. I need to coach better. That’s really what it is.”

To be fair to Stefanski, it was a bad day to ask him anything. Watson has looked horrible for much of his short stint with the Browns. After all the controversies following him, it’s hard to feel bad for Cleveland. They bent over backwards to get him and they have to deal with that. It’s a good problem for a divisional rival to have, if you’re the Ravens. Speaking of the Ravens, the Browns lost to the Ravens’ next opponent.

Bring on the Battle of the Beltways.

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