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Lamar Jackson Delivers Arguably His Greatest Highlight in Shootout Win

QB Lamar Jackson stiff-arming Bengals DE Sam Hubbard.
QB Lamar Jackson stiff-arming Bengals DE Sam Hubbard.

Lamar Jackson is a human highlight, but his touchdown pass Sunday in Cincinnati may go to the front of the reel.

With the Ravens trailing by 10 points late in the fourth quarter, Jackson threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely that will go down as one of his greatest of all-time.

Was it the best?

"It's cool," Jackson said. "I dunno. It's cool."

Jackson was not happy after his fumble in overtime nearly let the Bengals walk off with a game-winning field goal, but had it not been for his miraculous play, the Ravens wouldn't have stood a chance.

Jackson seems to deliver his best in Cincinnati's Paycor Stadium. His “Houdini” 47-yard spin-move touchdown run in 2019 happened in the same building.

Sunday's highlight had it all. Jackson bobbled the snap initially and had to go to his knees to scoop it up. He scrambled backwards to buy more time and stiff-armed 265-pound defensive end Sam Hubbard twice to escape.

Jackson kept fading towards the sideline and launched a leaping throw while being hit by Bengals linebacker Jermaine Pratt. Even though it will go down as a 6-yard touchdown pass, Jackson launched it from the 20-yard line.

Tight end Isaiah Likely leapt up between three Bengals defenders, including former Ravens safety Geno Stone, to make the touchdown grab. That score cut the Bengals' 10-point lead to three with less than six minutes left.

"It really was incredible. I went to him and I said, 'I've never seen anybody throw anything like that in my entire life,'" tight end Mark Andrews said. "Thats just the type of player he is. The play's never dead. He's so special, and that was a really cool one."

Andrews came into the league with Jackson, so he's seen a lot of his highlights. This was running back Derrick Henry's first time getting a front-row seat.

"That was like [a] third MVP level for him," Henry said. "That's why Lamar is the best player in the league; [he's] the G.O.A.T for a reason."

That was hardly Jackson's only highlight. The Ravens' leader put on his cape Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati with Baltimore's defense struggling to slow down Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns but still lost to Jackson.

If there were any remaining questions about Jackson's ability to win a shootout with his arm, this is yet more proof otherwise. Jackson was 26-of-42 for 348 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

The Ravens' rushing attack had carried Baltimore's offense to its first two wins of the season. Baltimore insisted that it has a pick-your-poison offense, but it hadn't proven it yet this season.

With the Bengals up 10 points on three separate occasions, Jackson and his receivers had to show Cincinnati they could be deadly through the air.

Zay Flowers had seven catches for 111 yards and eight other Ravens caught at least one pass. Rashod Bateman made clutch plays, including a 16-yard touchdown and diving sideline snag. Mark Andrews snapped his two-game skid without a catch with four catches for 55 yards. Likely hauled in two touchdowns and No. 3 tight end Charlie Kolar had a 55-yard gallop and a touchdown. Tylan Wallace had two clutch fourth-quarter grabs.

The Lounge 671

671: Instant Reaction From Ravens' Wild Overtime Win in Cincinnati

Team insiders Ryan Mink and Cassie Cherigo break down the Ravens' 41-38 overtime win in Cincinnati, including Lamar Jackson's spectacular performance and a debate on whether he made his greatest highlight ever. Plus they review all the clutch performances, Justin Tucker's GOAT statement, the emergence of a diverse passing attack, and what needs to be fixed in the secondary.

"I have to give the receivers [credit]," Flowers said. "Everybody came through and made plays when they were supposed to make plays, and [Jackson] kept us alive." 

Despite the win and his performance, Jackson was annoyed after the game. He was mad at himself for fumbling in overtime, which nearly cost the Ravens the game.

Jackson explained that the miscue happened because he took his eyes off the snap to see if the Ravens were got it off before a delay of game penalty. He said he was "furious" walking off the field.

"This is not an exciting win for me at all, not [with] how the game ended, especially with us in overtime dropping the ball, and then the fumble happened. I'm ticked off about that," Jackson said.

"I didn't want to put my defense back out there, and our offensive line was doing a great job, our receivers were doing a great job, but we got it done, so it's cool. We got the win; that's all that matters."

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