Baltimore Ravens clinch first AFC playoff spot with victory over Jacksonville Jaguars as Lamar Jackson shines
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — The Baltimore Ravens recorded a fourth straight win thanks to a Lemar Jackson-inspired 23-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday to secure the first AFC playoff spot.
Jackson threw a touchdown pass and completed 14 of 24 passes for 171 yards, as well as an interception while also running for 97 yards.
After the game, Jackson said he wasn’t even aware the Ravens had clinched a playoff berth.
“I’m just trying to win, take it a game at a time,” he told NBC. “This is my first time winning in this stadium. I lost here in college, lost last year. It was a sloppy win, but we got it done.”
Jackson made the play of the game in the third quarter when he wriggled out of Dawuane Smoot’s attempted sack and threw a 26-yard pass to Isaiah Likely right by the goal line.
“That’s just God,” Jackson replied when asked how he managed to escape Smoot’s sack. “I’m trying to make something happen. That defensive line is a great defense we just faced, playoff atmosphere. Just thank God.”
However, it wasn’t all good news for the Ravens, who lost rookie Keaton Mitchell to a gruesome knee injury in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell lost his footing after being tackled, resulting in his knee buckling the wrong way. He gave a thumbs up as he was carried from the field, but after the game, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that Mitchell is likely out for the rest of the season after suffering what he called a “serious knee injury.”
For the Jaguars, who have now lost three straight games to fall to 8-6 and into a tie at the top of the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, Trevor Lawrence threw a touchdown pass and completed 25 of 43 passes for 264 yards.
However, Lawrence fumbled twice during the contest, including one crucial error in the fourth quarter.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson told reporters that Lawrence was placed in the concussion protocol after the game.
According to Pederson, Lawrence sustained the concussion on a play in the fourth quarter, though he was able to complete the game.
The Ravens’ next match is at the San Francisco 49ers on Boxing Day, while the Jaguars travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The-CNN-Wire
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