QB Jackson dazzles with 5 TD passes vs. Rams
LOS ANGELES — Lamar Jackson was unstoppable in his Monday Night Football debut, showing the football world once again why he’s perhaps the best player in the game.
In a 45-6 rout of the Los Angeles Rams, Jackson put together another MVP performance in leading the Baltimore Ravens to scores on all six of his drives while continuing to rewrite the NFL record book.
With Jackson ripping long runs and threading passes in the red zone, here are some new feats he established Monday:
First player with five touchdown passes in a Monday Night Football debut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau research
Youngest player (22 years old) with multiple games of five touchdown passes in NFL history
First player in NFL history with four touchdown passes and at least 50 yards rushing in consecutive games
First player with at least 3,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards over his first two seasons in NFL history.
Jackson finished 15-of-20 for 169 yards with touchdown passes to Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (6 and 18 yards), Willie Snead IV (two 7-yarders) and Mark Ingram (7 yards). He also ran for 95 yards on eight carries.
He did all of this despite not playing the final 14 minutes, 43 seconds of the game.
It’s now not just an MVP race. It’s a race for most touchdown passes in the league. Jackson is tied with Seattle’s Russell Wilson for the NFL lead with 24 touchdown passes.
The Ravens (9-2) won for an NFL-best seventh straight time. Baltimore now leads the AFC North by three games over the Pittsburgh Steelers and moves back to within one game of the New England Patriots for the top seed in the AFC.
This sets up a marquee matchup Sunday, when the Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers at M&T Bank Stadium.