Andrew Ortenberg
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Wow. Just when you thought the 2021 NFL primetime games couldn’t get any more exciting, that Monday Night Football happened. The first half was sleepy, and the second half couldn’t have been any more different. The Baltimore Ravens completed an epic comeback, topping the Indianapolis Colts 31-25 in overtime.
Indianapolis choked, but the Ravens deserve all the credit in the world for their miraculous effort in the fourth quarter. Or to be more precise, Lamar Jackson deserves all the credit in the world. The young quarterback was phenomenal, and put up eye-popping numbers. Let’s digest what we just saw, and what it all means moving forward.
If Lamar Jackson plays like this, Ravens will be hard to stop
To say Jackson was sensational in the second half would be a massive understatement. He looked like the guy who easily won the MVP a couple of years ago, but even better. Jackson was his usual dynamic self as a runner, routinely making quality NFL defenders look foolish. But he was electric as a passer as well, silencing the many critics who usually become quite vocal every time he misses a throw.
Jackson passed for 442 yards, setting a franchise record. He accounted for more than 500 yards of offense by himself. He set the NFL record for completion percentage in a game with 400+ passing yards. What makes the performance even more incredible is that the offense struggled for much of the game. But then they finished with four straight touchdown drives of at least 75 yards.
This eruption was on another level, but the Louisville product had already shown he had made major strides as a passer. Even before this game, he was throwing downfield more often, and more successfully. If he’s going to be this accurate and this aggressive as a passer, I just don’t see how anyone is going to slow down this Ravens offense. We all know what their running game is capable of.
Baltimore’s defense has question marks, for sure, and those were on full display Monday night. The Colts routinely picked on Anthony Averett, and the secondary is a bit concerning. But if John Harbaugh can get that side of the ball figured out, the Ravens have a very good shot at a Super Bowl run.
Especially with the Chiefs having clearly been dethroned on Sunday Night Football…
LAMAR JACKSON AND HOLLYWOOD BROWN CALL GAME
RAVENS (-335 ML) COMPLETE THE COMEBACK pic.twitter.com/6WK2R2OUhr
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) October 12, 2021
Doesn’t get much tougher than that for the Colts
I’m a big fan of Jackson, so that comeback was amazing to watch. But I can’t help but feel for the Colts. It was one of the biggest chokes in recent NFL history, as Indianapolis managed to meltdown and blow what looked like a certain victory. They led the Ravens 22-3 late in the game.
Indy came out focused and with a heck of an effort, completely dominating on defense in the first half. Carson Wentz had by far his best game as a Colt, and joined Jackson in throwing for over 400 yards. But hardly anybody will remember that. Just when it looked like the Colts were going to get back in the AFC South hunt, they got their hearts ripped out.
Now at 1-4, it’ll be hard for Frank Reich’s team to climb out of this hole. It’ll be even harder for them to put this gut-wrenching loss behind them on a short week. This team isn’t as bad as their record indicates, but things look bleak right now. Injuries continue to pile up by the boatload, and if this loss wasn’t demoralizing I don’t know what is.
Indianapolis is going to be a massive favorite over the Texans this coming weekend, and it’ll be very interesting to see how they come out there. With Monday Night Football in the books, now we turn our attention to Week 6.
Check out our reaction and analysis of Jon Gruden’s departure from the Raiders
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