![\"Peyton](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2260596609-e1770912488426.jpg\")
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The Baltimore Ravens have received a warning about Lamar Jackson’s career, related to Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.<\/p>\n
New coaches don\u2019t change the most important narrative for the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson<\/a> needing to prove he can finally win the big one. The two-time NFL<\/a> MVP is at a dangerous crossroads, one not unlike what Hall of Famer Peyton Manning faced earlier in his career.<\/p>\n That\u2019s according to Diante Lee of The Ringer<\/a>. Lee believes Jackson is \u201cin the same place Peyton Manning was in the mid-2000s\u2014nothing else in his career will matter until he\u2019s lifting the Lombardi Trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n Manning finally delivered for the 2006 Indianapolis Colts<\/a>, before bringing the curtain down on his career by raising a second Vince Lombardi Trophy with the 2015 Denver Broncos<\/a>. In between, Manning suffered two humbling Super Bowl defeats, but Jackson is still yet to even reach the big game, and Lee thinks \u201cit\u2019s time for him to deliver in the playoffs the way he has during most regular seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackson erasing his own mediocre playoff record<\/a> will depend largely on how a new regime in Baltimore handles this delicate phase of his development. A phase defined by how much Jackson struggled when on the field in 2025, struggles that may yet impact looming contract talks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lamar Jackson Facing Peyton Manning Narrative<\/p>\n The Ravens\u2019 fortunes in 2026 are still tethered to Jackson<\/a>, but can he finally win the big one? It\u2019s the same question Manning needed to answer way back when, in the days when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots<\/a> were routinely getting the better of him in the playoffs.<\/p>\n Even when he managed to avoid the Pats, Manning found himself undone by others. Like when the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> won in Indianapolis en route to the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n As the player whose arm talent and decision-making powered the Colts to dominating so many of those regular seasons, Manning became the main target for critics whenever his teams fell short.<\/p>\n Jackson is in the same position as the player who most often determines whether the Ravens win or lose. He couldn\u2019t help the Ravens win often enough last season, and injuries didn\u2019t explain all of Jackson\u2019s failings.<\/p>\n While Jackson \u201cwas battling through injuries, he also wasn\u2019t very sharp with ball placement or decision-making early in the season, and people are going to question whether the version of him we saw in 2025 is a look into his 30s\u2014and whether his production will wane with his athleticism,\u201d according to Lee<\/a>.<\/p>\n His on-target percentage of 72.4 was the lowest of Jackson\u2019s career in a full season, per Pro Football Reference<\/a>. Meanwhile, an 18.3 bad-throw percentage was his third-highest in the pros.<\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s issues weren\u2019t just limited to throwing the ball. The 29-year-old was also less willing to run<\/a>.<\/p>\n His hesitation may have stemmed from a desire to chance his arm more often, but Jackson will need a more expansive scheme for that. Providing one is the challenge for rookie head coach Jesse Minter, who has already put new coaches around Jackson.<\/p>\n Ravens Making Changes for Star QB<\/p>\n Minter replaced Todd Monken with Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator, before jettisoning Jackson\u2019s longtime position coach<\/a>, Tee Martin. Those are not insignificant changes around the most important player on the roster.<\/p>\n The staff changes must inspire more moments of vintage Jackson. Like this escape from pressure and touchdown heave<\/a> to wide receiver Zay Flowers<\/a> against the Steelers in Week 18.<\/p>\n Doyle and new quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork must decide if they should keep Jackson within the run-heavy scheme he\u2019s operated for years. Or else, remove the limitations described by a former teammate<\/a> and let Jackson take charge with his arm, the way Manning did.<\/p>\n That choice will determine where Jackson\u2019s career goes from here.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJames Dudko<\/a> covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Ravens\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Baltimore Ravens have received a warning about Lamar Jackson’s career, related to Hall of Famer Peyton…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":747432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-747431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116058725497736827","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/747432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}