Lamar Jackson is so good and so elusive that he manages to defy football strategy. And while that can make a head coach awfully nervous in real time, the payoff is often worth it in the end.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh couldn’t even believe what he witnessed on Saturday night.
With Baltimore facing second and goal and 11 seconds remaining in the first half, normal football logic would tell you that Jackson had to get rid of the ball quickly in order to leave time for the field goal, at worst.
Instead, Jackson scrambled for 6.31 seconds and ultimately found an open Justice Hill for a touchdown with two seconds remaining in the half. And let me tell ya, Harbaugh was *sweating* as he watched the play unfold.
John Harbaugh wanted Lamar to throw it away… and then he saw what he did next. 👀#HardKnocks In Season with the AFC North available now on @streamonmax pic.twitter.com/11xLrSb8Ap
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2025
Mic’d-up footage from Hard Knocks showed as Harbaugh repeatedly told Jackson to throw the ball away during the play. At one point, Harbaugh brought the mic closer to his mouth just to emphasize that to his quarterback. When the play ended in a touchdown, Harbaugh was hilariously in disbelief.
But again, Jackson’s talents defy logic. Why settle for three when you can run around for six seconds and get a touchdown? It doesn’t have to make sense. Lamar had it all under control.
