Lamar Jackson put the MVP race to bed against the Dolphins – Matt Jones on Ravens clinch #1 seed in AFC
In Baltimore the Ravens having no problem handling this dolphin Squad 56-19 you’re hearing that score correct Lamar Jackson on another MVP like performance from him yesterday following up what he did last Monday in San Francisco this is a team now that has locked up the afc’s number one seed so
The road to the Super Bowl through the AFC will end up going through Baltimore let’s hear from Lamar Jackson following this win on what getting home field advantage means for the Ravens going forward knowing that we still have a lot to get um going on you know we uh got to
Finish this season the right way we had one obstacle we finished that obstacle um we got Steelers next week that’s how that’s how I’m standing focused this season just taking one game at of time like I’ve been preaching to you guys all season all right so Lamar 321 yards
Passing five touchdowns no interceptions 35 yards on the ground as well his contributions here over the last last couple of weeks to solidify his case as the MVP like of course that’s what we’re talking about this morning because this game wasn’t in question I have no qualms about this Ravens team given what
They’ve shown us the last couple of weeks they go on the road and beat Jacksonville they go on the road and beat the San Francisco 49ers and then to go back home and do this against a Miami Dolphins team who you know very well may end up seeing them again in the
Postseason at some point I don’t know if there’s many holes that you can poke in what the Ravens have in their resume and what they’ve done this season map what I do know is that these final games and the jockeying for positioning in that MVP race has certainly helped Lamar’s
Case and what he’s been able to do to build his case against Brock pie keeping defending off Dak Prescott here any late stretch and we’ll get into what happened in that Cowboys game but it is really impressive to see because Todd monins offense and you saw him on that TV a lot
Yesterday they kept showing him and highlighting all the work that he had done to get this group where it’s at right now where you’re getting major contributions from aay flowers from even from you know that incredible catch from Odell Beckham yesterday as well those are the things that make this Ravens
Team a formidable opponent in the 2023 NFL playoffs and that’s what makes them a scary threat because this was not the same offense the last time we saw this team in the postseason yeah I mean with Lamar I first of all what a quote machine there every uh every you know every complete
Phrase that means means nothing we hear over and over I love Lamar when he was at Louisville he said all kinds of interesting things the NFL has sucked all that out of him but what it hasn’t sucked out is his creativity and ability to play and you’re exactly right by
Changing the offense where he’s now able to throw and have receivers that can get open guys like Z flowers I think it has uh you know helped him reach a different stage of his game now whether or not that’s going to translate I think it will actually in the postseason but we
Have to see it but what I loved yesterday was I felt like that game against against the Dolphins was a definite show me game the Dolphins have annoyed me Courtney probably more than any other team I love Tyreek Hill I love the way they play I love their the
Explosiveness I love Tua but I just and I I want to like Mike McDaniel but there’s something about a guy who thinks in about a year it’s like he decided he was cool in the last year and yet he hasn’t done anything that I have potentially thought was all that
Impressive and yesterday he got a Smackdown he it was a complete Smackdown by Lamar and the Ravens they were dominated from start to finish and I think the Dolphins will be a joke in the playoffs and I kind of think they are where the Ravens were two or three four
Years ago where a lot of what worked for them wouldn’t translate in the postseason but I do think Courtney this year it does for Baltimore and if there was ever year for Lamar to go and win a Super Bowl I think this is the one because I they have a matchup advantage
Against the teams that they play for the most part and the teams that give them trouble those hard physical defensive teams there aren’t a lot of lot not a lot of those at the top of the NFL this year they put up 491 yards 56 points on
The Miami Dolphins so kind of flipping the script for what the Dolphins did earlier this season against the Denver Broncos a signature win back then they had the win against Dallas but you can look at their schedule this year look at their body of work and say who have they
Really beaten they had the opportunity to go do that on the road yesterday they didn’t come away with a win they did come away with some really unfortunate injury news we saw Bradley chub go down late in the fourth quarter this was a 30-point blowout at this point they were
Trying to finish out the game they were trying to just get through and then get back down to South Beach but he ends up leaving with a non-con injury and you got to hear this from Mike McDaniel clearly remorseful for the decision to play chub at that point of the game I
Would like a time machine for sure uh in in that in that situation after the events occurred um but you don’t know that when you go into it and you you you do the best you can I think the players the the players uh didn’t see the result
Of the game looking looking the way it did you know they’re they were hungry to get right and it didn’t work out for us that was head coach Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins Bradley chub the fear right now the reports are that it could be a torn ACL zaven Howard was also
Injured in this game Tua dealing with a banged up shoulder he did say afterward Matt that he thinks he’ll be good but injuries are getting this team at at a really bad time we know Jaylen waddle didn’t play in this game because he has a high ankle sprain their running backs
Are banged up and sometimes I know it sounds simple sometimes it’s a matter of can you stay healthy enough week 16 17 18 to be able to get into the postseason to be able to to to lock up that number one seed like the Baltimore Ravens have
They’re not going to play anybody next week I I heard what Lamar’s saying I I get it but they have their chance to get rest right now they have their chance to get healthy so then come the divisional playoffs when they’re playing their first game they’ll be in a far better
Spot than anybody that’s going to be playing week one of the postseason yeah I I I agree with that go back to Mike m Daniel I mean while he does annoy me it’s not his fault the guy got hurt that happens you can’t you’re not going to
Know a guy can get hurt he could have gotten hurt on the first play it stinks I know like he said he wishes he had a time machine but that’s football unfortunately but the injury point is a big one you know during Sunday Night Football last night uh they showed the
List of quarterbacks and there are only seven quarterbacks that have played every single game this year that have started and if you look at those six of them are in the playoffs and another one Baker Mayfield still may get into the playoffs being healthy especially at the quarterback position is really what it’s
All about if the if you’re healthy you make it if you’re not you don’t period that’s the that’s the whole game in my opinion and we’ll see right it’s all about when they get to this point who is healthy it does seem like the Ravens are
As healthy as anybody but I will note though about this time off you got to think about how many years in a row we’ve had Wild Card teams actually make the Super Bowl it’s a lot it’s like something like seven of the last nine sometimes sitting out so let’s take the
Ravens if they take next week off and then they have a buy you’re basically three weeks in in between playing it’ll probably be okay for them but that hasn’t always been a recipe for Success so you do have to be careful sitting out if you have a buy because you get a lot
Of time off between your games yeah I in 2017 I covered the Minnesota Vikings for espn.com and that was the year that they locked up the number one seed they ended up having that buy in the Wild Card round we all know what happened in the Minneapolis Miracle game that came down
To a miracle play because the team came out sluggish the first half and it was a back and forth Affair and you do have to guard against that I I would say this about the Baltimore Ravens and what they’ve proven to us this year to know
That this isn’t this isn’t a fluke like like the San Francisco 49ers you know a team that they beat last week they’ve built their resume upon bullying opponents with you know via defense especially when they have to go on the road watching what they did to San Francisco last week against that offense
With that many weapons with that many guys going over a 100 yards chrisan mcaffrey Brandon IU George KD and that not feeling like a close game whatsoever to me that’s the element that travels but the bigger picture thing here is that this offense is more than just Lamar Jackson sure there have been
Moments where he’s had to carry them throughout the throughout the season moments where you’re not getting a consistent Z flowers who again was banged up yesterday he ends up playing in this game but the contributions that they found elsewhere whether it’s Gus Edwards whether it’s Justice Hill being
Able to compensate for those injuries that they had earlier in the season to Mark Andrews to JK Dobbins it feels like like the timing of those and yes you can’t control that but the timing of when those happened allowed this Ravens team to adjust to get to the point now
That headed into the postseason their health and their direction are lined up and that’s that’s something that you can only hope for a lot of teams are not able to achieve that sort of accomplishment and have that sort of luck but sometimes if you’re just the healthiest team going into that first
Week of the postseason and their case going into the second week of the postseason that might be the straw that breaks the camels back all right plenty more to get into Where is div think all foree spech fore spee Fore Fore doee spee for speee spee Fore spee speee fore spee okay speech foreign speech for byee
