Lamar Jackson Shines In the Baltimore Ravens’ ‘Monday Night Football’ Performance

The New Orleans Saints welcomed the Baltimore Ravens into their home for Monday Night Football, only to have their guests run amok in the house. Baltimore’s offense deftly maneuvered the ball, and the defense kept the Saints securely grounded on the way to victory.

Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson runs with the ball during the team’s game against the New Orleans Saints Monday night. He led the Ravens to a resounding win, setting new team records along the way. (Image: Getty Images)

Lamar Jackson put in a convincing performance for the Ravens and finished the game with a touchdown pass, 133 passing yards and 83 rushing yards. With this, the quarterback became only the second in Ravens history to reach 100 passing touchdowns – Joe Flacco recorded 212 to hold top billing.

Saints Frustrations Continue

There were two fundamental aspects that allowed Baltimore to claim victory inside the Caesars Superdome. The first of them was the running game, as the Ravens accumulated 188 yards rushing.

This tied the NFL record of eight consecutive games of more than 150 yards on the ground; the Chicago Bears ran up nine in 1985. Last year, the Ravens tied the record for consecutive games of 100 or more yards at 43.

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Of those 188 yards on Monday, 83 were by Lamar Jackson. In addition to the franchise passing record, he surpassed Steve Young’s 4,239 rushing yards to rank fifth in NFL history.

The other key to the victory was the defense, which held the Saints down for practically the entire game. The standout item was Justin Houston, who posted 2.5 sacks and an interception. In the last three games, the veteran pass-rusher had 6.5 sacks.

The home team’s attack suffered from the pressure that Baltimore’s defense put on QB Andy Dalton, who was sacked once and failed on all three drives he had in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Jackson’s ability to carry the ball once again wreaked havoc on the Saints’ defense.

The quarterback capped off another seven-plus minute drive with a rushing touchdown play to Kenyan Drake that put them ahead 14-0. New Orleans closed out the first half with a field goal that sent them to the locker room at halftime, 14-3. In the third quarter, their guests distanced themselves 17-3 with a field goal.

Ravens Keep Saints Guessing

No matter how hard they tried, the Saints couldn’t reach pay dirt. Baltimore was in control of a game that Saints head coach Dennis Allen could only describe as a “bad day at the office.” New Orleans has had a lot of those this season.

In a procedural fourth quarter for the Ravens, running back Kenyan Draje would get his second TD of the night. That allowed Baltimore to put the proverbial nail in New Orleans’ coffin.

Dalton finally found some success when he hit Juwan Johnson with a 41-yard pass late in the fourth. That resulted in a TD, a gift from the Ravens, but it was too late to try to mount a comeback. The Saints accepted the only possible outcome.

With this victory, Baltimore remains the leader of the AFC North at 6-3. The Saints, at 3-6, are in third place in the NFC South, only ahead of one of the worst teams in the NFL, the 2-7 Carolina Panthers.

The Ravens had this game from oddsmakers going in and didn’t disappoint. The Saints, on the other hand, did. Their lack of offensive performance kept the total below expectations, proving once again that the under is the champion of Monday Night Football.

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