Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens put each other against the ropes in the offseason.
The Ravens pretty much made him available by placing him under the non-exclusive franchise tag, and the rest of the league responded by shutting the door on him left and right.
That’s why he had a huge chip on his shoulder when he finally signed that record-setting deal.
Jackson led the Ravens to the best record in the league, and while his numbers weren’t all that impressive, he was efficient, looked better and more comfortable than ever as a passer, and even became the leading MVP candidate.
He rose to the occasion against winning teams when it mattered the most in the regular season, but there were still doubts about his ability to get the job done in the playoffs.
Now, those doubts aren’t going to go away any time soon, as he was far from his best in the AFC Championship Game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
With that in mind, Stephen A. Smith took to First Take to call him out (via ClutchPoints).
“The big story is Lamar Jackson. Ladies and gentlemen, with all due respect: It was a choke job. Let’s just call it what it is,” Smith said.
“The big story is Lamar Jackson. Ladies and gentlemen, with all due respect: It was a choke job. Let’s just call it what it is.”
Stephen A. Smith sounded OFF on the potential MVP after the Ravens’ loss to the Chiefs in the AFC championship game 🗣pic.twitter.com/igjHwWTlan
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 29, 2024
The controversial pundit gave Patrick Mahomes his flowers but added that it was a choke job by Jackson because he just couldn’t do what he always did when it actually counted:
Jackson turned the ball over twice and failed to move the chains in the most crucial game of the season, putting up just 10 points in the entire game.
Of course, Zay Flowers’ fumble in the endzone also hurt the team, but Jackson failed to be his usual explosive self all day long, and it’ll be tough to turn around the narrative about him after falling to 2-4 in the postseason.
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