The last time the Detroit Lions saw Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, it might have been the worst game of the Dan Campbell era. Jackson powered the Ravens to a dominant 38-6 win back in 2023, a game that wasn’t close from the opening drive.
Jackson sure looked like an MVP that day. His line: 21-of-27, 357 yards, and 3 TDs while also running for 36 yards and a touchdown. The Lions defense looked helpless as Jackson carved up the secondary with his arm and the front with his legs.
For Monday night’s game in Baltimore, containing Jackson–once again an MVP front-runner–is a huge key to a better showing than the last meeting. Lions head coach Dan Campbell is encouraged by how his defense has handled a pair of mobile quarterbacks in the first two weeks.
“Did a good job last week,” Campbell stated. “That was one of the things we really talked about. I thought – we talked about improving, we improved even from Week 1. (Packers QB Jordan) Love got out of there a couple of times. And I thought, with the exception of really probably one play, I thought we did a pretty good job on Caleb (Williams), maybe two. But it was a point of focus, man, we worked on it. Our guys really worked with each other, running the stunts and the games. And I thought we were very disciplined in that regard, and it helped us.”
In Week 1, Love ran three times for four yards. He did have some success throwing outside the pocket, though his stat line (16-of-22, 188 yards) doesn’t necessarily reflect productivity. Week 2 saw the Lions do a solid job against Williams, who is more inclined to run than Love. Williams ran five times for 27 yards while throwing for just 207 on 30 pass attempts.
Campbell knows that Lamar Jackson is a different challenge, even amongst mobile QBs.
“We’re going to have to be on point again. But I go back to this, too. You can’t paralyze your guys, either. You can’t pull back so far on them that they lose what makes them great players. Or like a guy like (Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch, you’ve just got to be careful. So, yes we have to be disciplined. Somebody’s going to have to cover for you if you’ve got a two-way go. And then, don’t leave your feet. Don’t leave your feet. You just keep moving with a base until you get reinforcements, and let’s just close it in on them. That’ll certainly be a point of emphasis.”
He didn’t bring it up, but Campbell’s first Lions team did a pretty sound job against Jackson and the Ravens offense back in 2021. That Detroit team held Jackson to 16-of-31 passing for 287 yards, one TD and one INT, with an additional 58 rushing yards. Baltimore won that Week 3 game 19-17, a very respectable outcome for the beginning of the Lions radical overhaul under Campbell.
“We know the test that’s in front of us, the task that we’re given, and we accept it,” Campbell later said. Monday night will show how well the Lions handle the testy task.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Dan Campbell breaks down the challenge of handling Lamar Jackson
Reporting by Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
