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Despite being a 2x MVP, Lamar Jackson still draws scrutiny to himself to this day. While we saw the Baltimore Ravens playing well through the regular season, part of that was the Ravens’ defense and Lamar Jackson’s run game. But the team choked in the playoffs and lost 10-17 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Since then, there have been a lot of questions looming around the team.
On the First Things First show, Nick Wright and his associates tried to predict Lamar Jackson’s upcoming season. In a bag of mixed reactions, Nick Wright’s assessment of the Ravens quarterback stood out as he predicted that the team won’t make it beyond the playoffs next year.
Nick Wright’s Lamar Jackson did not capitalize on everything being set up for him
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The elephant in the room was whether Wright had more or less “faith” in Lamar Jackson after seeing the Ravens’ performance. Unfortunately, Wright held the QB in a negative light as he explained his point of view. Per the host, Lamar Jackson had everything set up for him, but still had a bad game against the Chiefs.
“He had as good of a regular season as he possibly could have, everything was in place, and he had another ‘huh’ playoff game. So why would I think that it’s going to be different? He was bad in that Chiefs game,” said Wright as he went on to point out a flaw in the QB.
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-01-28T204033Z_659663524_MT1USATODAY22394324_RTRMADP_3_NFL-AFC-CHAMPIONSHIP-KANSAS-CITY-CHIEFS-AT-BALTIMORE-RAVENS.jpg?width=150&blur=15)
USA Today via Reuters
Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws the ball as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill (23) defends during the first half in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
“He was so bad that the biggest criticism of the Ravens were, they give him too many opportunities to be bad. That they should have handled the ball off more,” expanded the host on the Ravens vs. Chiefs game. The 2x MVP had a sub-par performance as he came up with 272 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. Jackson only had a 54.1% pass completion rate in that game. In shark contrast, Patrick Mahomes had about 77% completed passes in the same game at M&T Bank Stadium.
To add to the disappointment, Wright thinks that Lamar Jackson won’t be in a better position than he was in the last year. However, despite what Wright had pointed out, the QB still overcame many things and has hope for improvement. Jackson even went on to become one of the youngest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to be anointed with two MVP awards. It was the same that Chris Broussard banked on, showcasing his support for Jackson.
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Jackson has delivered on what he promised: Broussard
Disagreeing with Wright, Chris Broussard decided to side with Lamar Jackson and had sincere, heartfelt words to say about him. He pointed out that Lamar Jackson has delivered on most of the things that he promised to his fans. Broussard thinks that Jackson is “more determined than most.”
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/WhatsApp-Image-2024-01-21-at-7.09.07-AM.jpeg?width=150&blur=15)
USA Today via Reuters
Jan 20, 2024; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) rolls out to throw against the Houston Texans during the second quarter of a 2024 AFC divisional round game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Broussard pointed out that Jackson has been nothing but efficient in proving that he can handle the position well. The QB also proved people wrong when they said that he couldn’t win a playoff game by beating the Texans. To add to this, Lamar Jackson has been handling himself well as he scored a 5-year $260 million deal with the Ravens.
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All of these developments may be a factor to consider when looking at the bigger picture. With only 2 playoff wins in his career, he is still far behind his competition like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen. However, improvement is imminent for Jackson and he’s been doing that for a while.