FOXBOROUGH – Longtime Patriots safety Devin McCourty certainly understands the challenge Lamar Jackson presents.
Only in his fifth season, Jackson's already proven to be one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, already setting the record for the most 1,000-yard rushing seasons for a quarterback.
McCourty's already faced Jackson twice, so he's had a front-row seat to the magic the Ravens quarterback's been able to make with his legs. Ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Ravens, McCourty was asked Wednesday if Jackson is the fastest quarterback he's ever seen. He had a simple answer.
“Yeah,” Devin McCourty said with a chuckle.
The first time McCourty and the Patriots went up against Jackson, he punished them with his arm and legs. Jackson completed 17 of 23 passes for 163 yards with a touchdown and added 61 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a 37-20 Ravens victory, destroying a Patriots defense that was playing at a historic level at that point in the 2019 season.
GOODMORNING #RavensFlock
1 year ago today
MVP to be @Lj_era8 would lead the @ravens to a 37-20 statement victory over the undefeated @Patriots and their #1 defense on SNF.
BUT LAMAR CANT WIN BIG GAMES?? pic.twitter.com/YQgDG83nKX
— THE OFF-SEASON (@TheDailyRaven) November 3, 2020
Devin McCourty and the Patriots got some revenge against Jackson in 2020, defeating his Ravens 23-17. But Jackson still played well, throwing for 249 yards and two touchdowns with an interception while adding 55 rushing yards.
Through the first two games of the 2022 season, Jackson looks like he'll be in the mix to win his second MVP. He has 531 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, an interception, 136 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown through the first two games.
McCourty's taken note of Jackson's growth in the passing game, especially after his start to this season.
“The hard thing with him is he got better,” McCourty said. “You watch him sit in the pocket a lot more, patient, but I think the hardest thing is him reading the defense. When you’re in zone [coverage], you can see he sees that. He stays in the pocket, he knows that within that zone that his guys will be uncovered and he'll have time.
“When you’re in man [coverage], he still wants to keep his eyes downfield, but if that lane opens up and he sees all the routes going in the other direction, he knows it’s trouble for you. And you’ll see him take off, and you’ll see big plays like that happen.
“Each year when you talk about these quarterbacks that were younger a year ago, you’re starting to see – whether it’s him, Josh Allen – the mental part of the game comes so much easier for him. And they’ve been in the same offenses, doing the same thing over and over again, year in and year out. It’s dangerous.”
As Jackson's grown as a passer, McCourty noted that Jackson is still strong as a runner – which is where the difficulty of stopping him comes. McCourty shared exactly what the Patriots' defense has to do in order to limit the damage Jackson does in Sunday's game.
“No matter what, we have to stay disciplined – especially with a guy like Lamar Jackson,” Devin McCourty said. “There's going to be times where some of the plays that they scheme runs and different things, a guy has a guy. Like, we'll have a quarterback guy for Lamar Jackson.
“Do you have him though? That's the thing. That's where you talk about discipline – where if a guy has him you have to have other guys running to the ball. [For example] I'm the guy that's supposed to be on the inside run fake – alright I see they didn't give it, I need to get going and be that second cleanup guy. We've seen it his whole career. There's a guy that has him in the scheme and you do it in practice saying “Yeah, I've got him” but actually getting that tackle and getting him on the ground is different. So, discipline will be huge this week.”
The Patriots' rush defense has gotten off to a solid start in 2022. They've allowed just 156 rushing yards through the first two games, which is tied for the fifth-fewest in the league – but they haven't faced anyone as dynamic as Jackson yet.
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