What Makes Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Offense so Special?
Many expected an NFL rushing record to be broken on Monday night when the Ravens squared off against the Colts. Instead, it was Lamar Jackson’s arm that made history.
The start of this game was rough for the Ravens’ offense.
After posting just 3 first half points, Baltimore’s opening possession in the second half was a fumble all the way down at the Indianapolis 1 yard line. The ensuing Colts’ possession ended with a touchdown that extended their lead to 22–3 early in the 3rd quarter.
The bread and butter of the Baltimore offense is their dynamic rushing attack, but a dominant run game isn’t typically a recipe for success when playing from behind. The only way for the Ravens to stage a comeback in this one was with a dominant passing performance, and Jackson was more than ready to deliver.
Following their fumble, Baltimore’s next three possessions ended with touchdown passes, and the Colts defense looked completely lost trying to shut down the Ravens’ aerial attack.
When the 4th quarter ended, the game was tied at 25 and the Ravens had earned themselves a shot at overtime. They won the coin toss, elected to receive, and at that point the game was all but over.
Just like on their previous three possessions, the Ravens marched down the field on the opening possession of overtime, and ended the game with a walk off touchdown to Marquise Brown.
When all was said and done, Jackson finished the day with 442 passing yards — a Ravens record — 4 touchdowns, and most importantly, a win.
Every year people want to question Jackson’s ability to beat defenses with his arm, but Monday night was a prime example of his ability to do exactly that. His evolution as a passer has grown substantially since he’s entered the league, and defending the Baltimore offense has become a true pick your poison situation for opposing defenses.
Despite Jackson’s outstanding passing performance on Monday night, when you think of him and the Baltimore offense, the run game is likely the first thing that comes to mind.
The man tasked with designing this run-heavy offense is current Ravens’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Roman joined the Ravens’ staff in 2017 where he served as tight ends coach before being promoted to coordinator in 2019. In his first year on the job, his primary responsibility was designing an offense around Lamar Jackson and his one of a kind skill set.
This wasn’t the first time Roman had been tasked with designing an offense around a mobile quarterback. In his previous stints with Buffalo and San Francisco, Roman built offenses that were designed to complement the skill sets of Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick respectively.
Where Roman really made a name for himself was in his stint with the 49ers from 2011–2014. During his time there, the 49ers were one of the dominant teams in the NFC, and Roman was viewed as a bit of an innovator due to his willingness to make the read-option concept a staple within his scheme.
Read-option plays are common in many NFL playbooks today, but back then they were viewed as a gimmick that was reserved strictly for the college and high school ranks.
Roman’s never been afraid to be a schematic innovator, and with the Ravens he was given the opportunity to build an offense around one of the most dynamic players the league has ever seen.
The offense he designed for Jackson blends together an old-school, smash mouth brand of football with forward-thinking spread offense concepts.
One of the many interesting ways Roman has shaped the Ravens offense is through his personnel groupings — largely his use of multiple tight ends, extra offensive lineman, and even a fullback.
It’s strange to think these big-bodied players are a natural complement to a quarterback’s preferred style of play, but Jackson is a special case. Having extra blockers on the field has been a staple of the Ravens’ offense since he took over as starter in 2019.
Their game against Kansas City in week two was a perfect example of how important heavy personnel groupings are to this team.
Up 1 point with 1:05 left in the game, the Ravens were facing a 4th and 1 with the game on the line. A first down would seal the victory for Baltimore, but coming up short would hand the ball back to Patrick Mahomes and the reigning AFC champs.
On the most important play of the game, the Ravens lined up like this:
One quarterback, one tight end, one fullback, seven (yes seven) offensive lineman, and one halfback (Latavius Murray isn’t in the screen shot, but he’s split out wide).
This wasn’t one of the spread-style concepts that have become a staple in the Ravens offense, but the personnel grouping and play call epitomize what the Ravens want to do philosophically — run right through their opponents.
On this particular playcall there was no misdirection, no disguise, and no doubt who was getting the football. Everyone knew exactly what was coming, but there was nothing the Chiefs could do to stop it.
Jackson took the snap, ran behind the big bodies on the left side of the line, converted the first down, and sealed the victory for Baltimore.
When the game’s on the line, any good team wants the ball in their quarterback’s hands. However, most teams would never even consider running their franchise quarterback right into the teeth of the defense with the game on the line.
The threat of Jackson running on any given play is the foundation this offense is built around. His skill set unlocks offensive concepts that other teams simply aren’t capable of running because they don’t have him playing quarterback.
Play fakes, motion, and misdirection are all staples in the Ravens’ offense, and all the moving parts keep defenses on their toes and help provide Baltimore with a numbers advantage in both the running and passing game.
Take this play from week 4 as an example. Watch how the threat of Jackson as a runner puts the Broncos’ edge defender (#53) in a bind.
The Ravens are in 21 personnel here — 2 RBs, 1 TE, 2 WRs — and Jackson has two places he can go with the football here. He could keep the ball and run it up the gut himself, or he could hand it to Murray for an outside run to the left.
The threat of Jackson keeping the ball paralyzes the edge defender and completely removes him from the play. Latavius Murray (who’s not exactly the quickest back in the league) is then able to get around the edge and follow Ricard (#42) basically untouched into the end zone.
On that particular play, Jackson’s gravitational pull led directly to a touchdown that he’ll never get credit for on the stat sheet.
It’s nearly impossible for opposing defenses to stop both Jackson and a Batltimore running back at the same time. When they try, Jackson and Roman have no problem dialing up a well timed pass play to take advantage of an out of position defense.
Here’s an example from last season that highlights another way the threat of an inside run opens up the outside of the field. This time however, it’s through the air:
Baltimore’s in 20 personnel here — 2 RBs, 0 TEs, 3 WRs — and every single minor detail within this play get the defense scrambling.
It’s 1st and 10, there’s a fullback on the field, and no team ran the ball on first down more than the Ravens in 2020. Before anything even happens, the Jaguars’ defense is likely already expecting a run.
Then the first form of misdirection appears as Willie Snead goes in motion and forces the defense to shift right as the ball is snapped.
Once the snap happens, Ricard’s initial motion implies he’s tasked with blocking the backside edge, the play fake to Gus Edwards causes the linebackers to bite, and before the defense can blink, Ricard’s slipping wide open into the flat for what should have been an easy five yards before he turns it into a tough ten.
Ricard (or Pancake Pat as his teammates like to call him) is a 311 pound fullback who carved out a key role in this Ravens’ offense. Most team’s don’t even carry a fullback on their roster anymore, but the Ravens are running two back sets on an astounding 59% of their snaps.
More often than not, Ricard’s job is to run full speed through a rushing lane and steamroll any defenders that dare get in his way. Every once in a while though, the Ravens opt to give him the football and it always seems to come when the defense is least expecting it.
The creative use of guys like Ricard really help keep this offense ticking and add another unique component to this potent Ravens’ attack.
If you watch the clip from the Jaguars game again and focus on the receiving options Jackson has available, you’ll notice they all wind up on the right side of the field.
Hollywood Brown runs a crossing route from the bottom of the screen, Snead’s motion turns into a wheel route up the sideline, and the receiver at the top of the screen runs a deep route straight down the field.
Jackson’s read appears to be someone limited on this particular play. He only had to survey the right third of the field, and it’s likely his progression went deep, to intermediate, to short where he ultimately checked down to Ricard in the flat.
Play calls like this are frequent in the Baltimore offense. The simplicity of reads like this have caused many skeptics to question Jackson’s ability to work within the pocket and progress through more complex, full-field reads.
In the Monday night game against the Colts, the Ravens ground game really struggled. Indianapolis is home to one of the better front sevens in the NFL, and they were able to completely shut down the Ravens running backs. They held Baltimore to just 86 rushing yards — the first time in 43 games where they didn’t eclipse the 100 yard mark — and Jackson accounted for 62 of those yards himself.
With no help from his backs or the run game in general, how did Jackson respond?
He set a franchise record by throwing for 442 yards and 4 touchdowns in an epic comeback victory.
With the running backs being a non-factor, the fakes and misdirections that make this offense such a nightmare to defend were no longer fooling the defense. The game was put squarely on Jackson’s shoulders (specifically his right one), and he was more than happy to answer the call.
The Ravens moved the ball through the air with ease in the second half, and the game winning touchdown Jackson threw to Hollywood Brown was a perfect example of how he’s developed as a pocket passer.
In contrasting fashion to the game sealing run against the Chiefs, when the game was on the line against the Colts, the Ravens lined up with no one but Jackson in the backfield, and all of their best pass catchers on the field:
Before the football was even snapped, Jackson read the defense and decided he was likely going to throw to the 2 receiver side of the formation. He then stood like a statue in the pocket, worked through his progressions, and delivered a perfect pass to Brown to end the game.
Unlike the play action pass to Ricard that was highlighted earlier, the receivers on this play are spread horizontally across the goal line. This full-field read is drastically more difficult to work through, but Jackson was as cool as a cucumber while progressing through his options. The right decision paired with an accurate pass meant another win for the Ravens.
Just like the Chiefs game in week two, the Ravens were happy to put the ball in Jackson’s hands with the game on the line. This time however, he did what many doubted he could do and he won the game with his arm.
Jackson’s been asked to do everything for this Ravens offense in 2021, and he’s had no problem stepping up to the task at hand.
No matter what defenses have done to try and stop him, no opponent has been able to find success.
The weight of the entire Baltimore offense has been put on Jackson’s shoulders this season, and he’s willed his team to victory on numerous occasions. He’s doing more for his team than any other player in the NFL right now, and if this success can be sustained, he’ll be taking home his second MVP trophy come season’s end.
