Lamar Jackson On His 324-Yard, 5-Touchdown Game: ‘Not Bad For A Running Back’

The Miami Dolphins are expected to be the worst team in the NFL this season, and they looked the part on Sunday in their opener against the Ravens.

Miami was non-competitive in the game, with an inept offense and an even worse defense, losing to Baltimore 59-10 at home, the most points scored in an NFL game since 2011. While some of that was on the Dolphins being awful, even bad teams don’t get beat down like that if the other team doesn’t put on quite the performance.

The Ravens offense was led by second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson, and the former Heisman Trophy winner only further quieted his critics with a near-perfect quarterbacking performance. Jackson completed 17-of-20 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns, and that’s wildly impressive, even against a very bad defense.

After the game, Jackson was asked about his performance through the air and couldn’t help but start it off by giving a little jab at all those who said he needed to change positions when he entered the draft.

Jackson has had his ups and downs as all young quarterbacks do but his abilities as a playmaker through the air and on the ground have been apparent from the start. There was no doubt he had some things to work on as a passer, but given all his arm talent and athleticism there was no rational reason to think that he had no chance of improving on those things. It’s early and against a bad opponent, but Week 1 was a great start to his second season as he looks to lead the Ravens back to the playoffs for a second straight year and show off his skills as a dynamic quarterback.