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In the first three weeks of the NFL season, no one had an answer to slowing down Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. That was until Sunday, when the Cleveland Browns may have laid out the blueprint to beating Jackson. An NFL coach said the Browns' blitzing of Jackson in Week 4 won them the game.
“The Browns showed how to beat Baltimore — blitz the hell out of Lamar (Jackson),” this evaluator said Sunday.
A veteran coach concurred.
“I felt the same way,” he said. “They were up on him fast. Take the fight to him, is what it looked like, play man and hope he can’t throw fade balls. We will see what creativity they have next week, what adjustments they have. More shifts, motions, unbalanced lines?”
Through the first three games, the Ravens talented quarterback had shown his improvements as a passer. Jackson had 863 yards and seven touchdowns along with no turnovers prior to Week 4.
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Then, by applying pressure on Jackson, the Browns were able to force the Ravens signal-caller into making multiple mistakes in Week 4. Before Sunday, Jackson and the Ravens were the only team in the NFL that had yet to turn the ball over.
After the game, Jackson walked away with two interceptions thrown and plenty of missed throws. With Cleveland's secondary being decimated with injury, it was impressive to see the Browns hold Baltimore's offense in check.
In just his second season in the NFL, Jackson is still adjusting to the ins and outs of the NFL. Once teams get a look at how the Browns shut him down in Week 4, other teams are going to begin using the same game plan. The athletic quarterback will have to do his homework on how to combat that in the coming weeks.
