'Feels good to get that monkey off of our back': Lamar Jackson elated after beating Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs
Over the last few years, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have accomplished a lot. They've gone from nearly firing their head coach and starting over to becoming a perennial powerhouse. Lamar Jackson has been central to that recent renaissance, taking the team to the playoffs in every year of his career. That said, there was the matter of one particular opposition that Lamar Jackson couldn't quite get rid of, but even that task was done and dusted in Week 2.
Lamar Jackson thrilled after beating rival Chiefs
The Ravens have had a clear ceiling in a few spots. Namely, their inability to make a deep playoff run and their inability to beat the Chiefs. On Sunday Night Football, the Ravens were able to knock off one of those talking points.
The Ravens beat the Chiefs 36-35 in a highly competitive game. Lamar Jackson was thrilled with the result, speaking to ESPN after the game.
This moment between @Lj_era8 and Coach Harbaugh. 🥺🥺 https://t.co/D6WWZSqeh9
"'It feels good to get that monkey off of our back,' said Jackson, whose three of eight regular-season losses have come against Kansas City. 'We've got to move on to Detroit now. We didn't win the Super Bowl yet; it's just one game. We've got to just keep staying focused.'"
After losing on Monday Night Football to the Las Vegas Raiders, most were expecting the Ravens to come up short in this one. When the Ravens were down multiple possessions, many viewers felt the game was already over. The Ravens didn't quite buy into that feeling.
"'I know my team is going to look at me,'" Jackson said. "'If I'm out there just messing up, they're going to be like, 'God damn, what are you doing?' So, I've got to do it for my guys. My guys have my back. The first two interceptions, they were like, 'Man, you're good; you got that out the way. Let's just play.' I was like, 'You're right, I've got to play now. That's over with.' And that's what we did.'"
With a win over the Chiefs, the Ravens have evened their record to 1-1. The team joins the rest of the division with one win and one loss. While it was clearly a big win, it meant much more to the Ravens than a mark in the win column.
According to Draft Kings, from 1990 to 2019, only 12 percent of the teams that started 0-2 went on to make the playoffs. Statistically speaking, the Ravens saved their season.
Despite losing several of their top players due to injuries and losing against what most saw as the inferior team in the division one week prior, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are still alive in 2021.
The Ravens are not out of the woods yet, as they remain in a competitive division that provided three playoff teams last season. All four teams are sporting a 1-1 record and have their eye on the playoffs. To win the division, the Ravens will likely need to win at least 11 more games.