John Harbaugh Pushes Back On Criticism For Leaving Lamar Jackson In: 'This Is The National Football League'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore Ravens season could not have gotten off to a much better start. The team dominated their AFC North rival, the Cleveland Browns, 38-6 on Sunday with quarterback Lamar Jackson looking every bit the reigning MVP in throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns.
But, despite the convincing win, some parts of the fan base had a bone to pick with Harbaugh for his decision to leave Jackson in the game late into the fourth quarter despite being up by 30-plus points. Jackson avoided any serious harm and eventually came out of the game to be replaced by backup Robert Griffin III, but a few hits he took late did have fans wondering why the coach left his QB out there.
Harbaugh responded to those criticisms at today's press conference saying that in the NFL, there aren't many teams that take their starting quarterback out with 10 minutes left.
Overall, Jackson appeared to be fine after the game, so no harm done by leaving him in during the fourth quarter.
As a whole, the game marked the third time in Jackson's career in which he posted a quarterback rating above 150 which set another record.
Jackson's performance Sunday was all the more impressive for the accuracy he showed on several deep throws an area that he was said to be working on this offseason. Now, a highlight matchup looms for the team in Week 2 with a road trip to Houston to play the Texans.
