The Baltimore Ravens look like the best team in the NFL right now. The Ravens improved to 9-2 with a 45-6 pummeling of the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night at the Coliseum. It’s Baltimore’s sixth straight win, and it’s been remarkable dominance over the last four games (three of which vs good teams): a 30-16 win at the Seattle Seahawks, a 37-20 win vs the New England Patriots, a 49-13 win at the Cincinnati Bengals, and now the 35-6 win over the Rams.
And the leader of this charge is Lamar Jackson. The second-year quarterback entered Monday’s game as the NFL MVP favorite, and now he may be the runaway favorite. Jackson only threw 20 passes (15-of-20 for 169 yards), but five of them were for touchdowns. He also added 95 rushing yards on eight carries (11.9 yards per carry). He could’ve done more damage, but was replaced by Robert Griffin III with over 10 minutes remaining due to the game being out of hand.
Here’s a look at Jackson’s five touchdown passes:
The Ravens have scored a TD on each of their first 6 drives tonight. They are the first team to do that since the 2008 Saints (Week 16 vs Lions).
Lamar Jackson is the youngest player in NFL history with multiple 5 Pass TD games in a season. Previous youngest was Patrick Mahomes.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 26, 2019
The first half was particularly absurd from Jackson.
First half summary from L.A.:
Rams: 113 total yards, 0 TDs
Lamar Jackson: 167 total yards, 3 TDs pic.twitter.com/F2UXOTpFmy— ESPN (@espn) November 26, 2019
Lamar Jackson's Monday Night Football debut has been a memorable one.
Passing: 9-for-9 for 87 yards and three TDs
Rushing: Six carries for 80 yards.And it's only the first half.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) November 26, 2019
As a team, the Ravens had 285 yards on the ground on 48 carries (5.9 AVG), and their defense held the Rams to just 22 carries on nine carries (2.4 AVG). And quarterback Jared Goff was brutal for Los Angeles, with zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 62.0 passer rating over 37 pass attempts.
This loss is a big blow to the Rams’ playoff chances. At 6-5, they’re two games behind the Minnesota Vikings for the second NFC Wild Card slot, and have a rough remaining schedule: at Arizona Cardinals ,vs Seattle Seahawks, at Dallas Cowboys, at San Francisco 49ers, and vs Arizona Cardinals. Los Angeles has looked mediocre overall this season and downright brutal on Monday night, so there’s little reason to think things will look much better down the stretch. It’s been a highly disappointing season after the Rams went 13-3 in 2018 and went to the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, the Ravens are trending in the opposite direction, and will look to keep rolling in a showdown against the 10-1 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Baltimore. That will be must-see TV with how well the Ravens and 49ers are playing, and with how dang fun Jackson is to watch.
