Harbaugh: Lamar Jackson played "winning football"

Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson kicked off his first career NFL career with an unequivocal electric attack in the Baltimore Ravens, leading the home team to a 24-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I thought he was playing winning football," said coach John Harbaugh after the win. "It's hard to be a quarterback in this league – it's tough against a defense like this: everything was at stake and played against him … I thought it was played very well, I thought he was playing the post, I thought he played quarterback very well managed, we operate, puts us in the right formations, the pace is excellent.For a first outing, the rookie in such an environment for everything to go well goes with his intelligence, his studiousness his ability to direct the show.That's all.Now, after that, the making of the game comes from God.He took advantage too. So proud of that. "

Baltimore telegraphed his game plan from the start, scouring 75 yards on eleven games to open the game with a touchdown. Jackson threw the ball zero times to score. Instead, the rookie swallowed 46 yards in five runs, including 21 and 12 yards and converted two-thirds.

"I had butterflies before the first tackle, but after that tackle, it was the game," Jackson said. "… A lot of people came to me, I'm a rookie, my first start [and they said] go out and be myself. My teammates have my back; I have theirs. "

the #RavensFlock tried 0 passes on his 11th match, 75m opening the disc (which gave Alex Collins, touched)

Since 2000, the only other time a team has attempted 0 has been playing a game of 10+, 75+ yards on first base:

The Raiders in Week 10, 2003 (19 plays, 80 yards).#LamarJacksoneffect

â € "NFL Research (@NFLResearch)
November 18, 2018

Against a Bengal defense that struggled to attack and dropped 141.2 yards per game on the ground (31st in the NFL), it was the perfect time to deploy Jackson's double threat capability. .

The Harbaugh team is riding on the rookie. Jackson took 27 runs, generating 117 yards rushing. Say that OC Marty Mornhinweg has relied on Jackson's strengths, evoking a multitude of reading options, creative course formations, a jumble of bad sense, a shot on goal and a course designed for that the rookie reaches the wire.

With Jackson hitting Cincinnati, the Ravens racked up 260 yards on the ground. The threat of Jackson's racing ability to the limit helped open gaping holes in the gut for unprepared rookie Gus Edwards, who raced for 115 yards on 17 carries and a score.

The passing game is more of a work in progress for Jackson, especially the young caller who plays the signal plays rhythmically. The Ravens were continually throwing high readings over the middle to quickly remove the ball and a slew of bootlegs. When these first readings were removed, Jackson normally bailed out. Baltimore did not at all threaten Downfield during Jackson's debut. It will come with time.

Jackson finished the game by completing 13 of 19 shots for 150 passing yards (7.9 yards per attempt), one INT, two sacks and a score of 70.1 QB.

Sometimes Jackson was nervous in his pocket and was trying to escape at the first sign of pressure. The escape ability of the rookie, however, is strange. He can dodge, duck, dive, dive and dodge defenders to escape pressure and find targets. For example, he saved several defensemen from throwing John Brown 23 yards at the end of the first half to give a vital goal on the pitch.

As for all the young quarterbacks, Jackson's improvisation came back to bite him on at least one occasion. The biggest mistake of the rookie of the day came from a room that he tried to get out of the pocket and make a late pitch. While avoiding a pass, Jackson never saw the defender get back on his blanket and intercepted the pass. INT gave a group life to the Bengals.

Asked after the match on his state of mind after his first interception, Jackson said, "I have to score points, I have to put my team in a good situation, I put our defense in a bad situation. . … "

To his credit, Jackson rebounded after that mistake, bringing two goals late to put Baltimore back on top.

Obviously, Baltimore was not going to do the same thing with Jackson as with Joe Flacco. The question that will arise is whether Baltimore stays with the rookie quarterback when Flacco is in good health. If he keeps his job, can Jackson be hit 30 times per game without getting hurt?

These questions will be asked in Harbaugh throughout the week. They will be easier to answer after a well-deserved victory.