Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is one of the brightest stars in the NFL. He is a perennial MVP candidate, he already has four Pro Bowl appearances to his name and he is one of the most unique talents in league history.
However, there is just one bugaboo that has affected Jackson ever since he entered the NFL in 2018: playoff success.
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Jackson has gone just 3-5 in the postseason over the course of his professional career, and he hasn’t exactly posted great overall numbers in those playoff appearances, either.
John Kosko of Pro Football Focus has identified Jackson’s playoff problems as his biggest kryptonite entering the 2025 campaign.
“The issue is that when the lights shine the brightest, on the biggest stages, he falters,” Kosko wrote. “In his past three postseason trips, Jackson has watched his season come to an end at the hands of either Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.”
Kosko did note that Jackson actually enjoyed an impressive postseason showing last year, but fell to Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. And while Mark Andrews may have been the biggest culprit in the loss, Jackson still made a couple of mistakes himself.
“He is remembered for two massive turnovers in that divisional-round defeat, despite an otherwise excellent game,” Kosko added. “If Jackson can eliminate critical mistakes when it matters most, he will seemingly have no weaknesses.”
Jackson threw for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 66.7 percent of his passes last season while also rushing for 915 yards and four scores. He finished second to Allen in MVP voting, and many felt that Jackson actually should have won the award.
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But for all of Jackson’s gaudy regular-season numbers and accolades, quarterbacks are largely defined by what they do in the playoffs, and probably more than any other position in sports.
We’ll see if Jackson can finally break through this year.
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