Lamar Jackson is forced to make something out of nothing too often.
This could’ve been another magical Monday night for Jackson (21 of 27, 288 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions), but he was sacked seven times and pressured consistently. Even some of his completions came on acrobatic throws where he was forced to evade Lions in hot pursuit.
Detroit had a solid game plan for Jackson, putting a spy on him to limit the damage he could do with his legs, and playing two safeties deep to make it harder for him to create big plays. Teams will likely try to replicate that moving forward.
However, a consistent running game and better pass protection would have allowed Jackson to make even more plays. Instead, Henry (12 carries, 50 yards) was largely contained for the second straight week, and Baltimore’s offense couldn’t make up for the defense’s shortcomings.
“I feel like Week 1 was a wakeup call, not just this loss,” Jackson said. “Week 1 was a wakeup call. Last week was a wakeup call, because we started off slow last week. And we got beat tonight. The Lions had a great game plan.”