Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season: Lessons From Sunday’s Games
ESPN: Sunday lessons have miss lead some of this players to……
Likely’s synergy and Lamar’s absurdity propel the Ravens to victory. A reminder of what it’s like to have Lamar Jackson available for the postseason push was just given to Baltimore. For the first time since 2020, the former most valuable player was on fire on Sunday night. He hadn’t played past Week 15.
Although he only had 171 passing yards and one poor interception during the game, he was hardly flawless in the air; nonetheless, when the Ravens needed it, he often made highlight-reel runs or chain-moving throws that left opponents in his wake. With 97 yards of his own, Jackson led Baltimore’s 251-yard rushing effort.
In the game’s most impressive play, he used all of his strength—arm and legs—to shrug off a Dawuane Smoot sack, drop deeper into the pocket to create time, and uncork a long ball that Isaiah Likely was able to receive by leaping between two defenders.
The show-stopper not only signaled Jackson’s growing confidence in his backup tight end, but it also set up a touchdown by Gus Edwards to begin the last verse. most likely had five receptions for 70 yards, leading the club. Jackson’s one touchdown pass, the tight-window laser, and the TE’s second touchdown in as many weeks all went to him.
The hapless Jags have lost three straight games. Jacksonville appeared determined to lose this game. At one point, the Jaguars drove four straight drives to the Baltimore 36-yard line or beyond, but they ended up with a goose egg at halftime. Brandon McManus failed to make a kick on the first two of those possessions, while Trevor Lawrence botched the next two.
Initially, Lawrence appeared to deceive himself while rushing into the red zone, misplacing the ball for Baltimore’s Arthur Maulet to recover. The franchise quarterback mishandled the running clock after a 36-yard dime by opting for a shotgun pass to rookie Parker Washington, who gained 1 yard and stayed inbounds to send the clock to triple zeroes.
This led to the subsequent drive, a two-minute drill that reached the Ravens’ 5-yard line. While Lawrence and company did play a (relatively) cleaner second half, giving the Ravens a 10-point lead with two quarters left proved to be too big of a gap. The Jags lost their third straight game despite Lawrence appearing remarkably unaffected by the high ankle sprain he sustained two weeks prior and Jacksonville’s defense, spearheaded by Rayshawn Jenkins, giving them a chance. With three games remaining, there is a three-way tie at 8-6 at the top of the AFC South.
Baltimore keeps attending to its business. With three losses apiece in Week 11, all four of the AFC division leaders were rapidly approaching the conclusion of the season. Since then, the Chiefs have dropped two games, the Dolphins have dropped one, and the Jaguars have lost three straight games. The Ravens, perhaps? They have already triumphed four times in a row.
With more than 200 yards running for the second time this season and more than 100 yards rushing in each of the team’s games, Baltimore’s attack is unstoppable when it comes to the run. That has been expertly matched by the defense, particularly on Sunday night when it bowed and let the Jaguars attack get through.
The Jaguars were given long drives to begin the game, but as the game neared its end, the unit tightened up, forcing them to settle for three plays on three of their final four possessions. The fourth game resulted in a downs turnover. The Ravens are now the first club in the AFC to qualify for the playoffs. They should be bursting with confidence going into two games against the 49ers and Dolphins that have the potential to be the best of the season.
The game’s next generation stat is Lamar Jackson’s 26-yard pass to Isaiah Jackson’s second-most implausible completion in 2023 occurred most likely in the third quarter, with 7.24 seconds to throw, 1.3 yards of target separation, and an 18.7% completion probability.
NFL Research: After sacks were became official in 1982, Justin Madubuike became the third player to record at least 0.5 sacks in 11 straight games in a season with his strip-sack versus the Jaguars.
