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2019 NFL Wild Card weekend: Top 5 takeaways from Round 1 of playoffs

By Peter Panacy

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 05: Michael Gallup #13 of the Dallas Cowboys comes down with the touchdown reception against Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter during the Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 05: Michael Gallup #13 of the Dallas Cowboys comes down with the touchdown reception against Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter during the Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 06: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens looks on from the ground after being tackled against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter in the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 06, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 06: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens looks on from the ground after being tackled against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter in the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 06, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

No. 5: The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson Looked Like a Rookie

Look, the Ravens have a fine and exciting quarterback in Lamar Jackson. He’s the future of the franchise’s offense, moving forward, and there are plenty of reasons to buy into his stock.

That said, Jackson’s efforts during NFL Wild Card weekend left a lot to be desired.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Overall, Jackson was 14-of-29 for 194 yards, two touchdowns and an interception en route to a 78.8 passer rating. At no point during the game against the Chargers did he look totally comfortable, instead appearing like a first-year player playing in his first NFL game ever.

In short, he looked like a rookie. Baltimore managed a mere 229 all-purpose yards during the game, which included Jackson’s impressive-but-too-brief fourth-quarter comeback efforts.

Early in the fourth, the Ravens had yet to crest 100 total yards.

Jackson’s pocket awareness was problematic, too, as he took a whopping seven sacks during the course of the game and never looked comfortable under center. His efforts even prompted the CBS broadcasting crew to suggest Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to swap Jackson with his predecessor, Joe Flacco.

All things considered, however, this should be an excellent learning experience for the talented quarterback. Rare are teams making it to the playoffs with a first-year signal-caller under center. And Jackson has flashed enough over the course of 2018 to suggest he’ll be listed among the best in a very short time.

His playoff debut, though, reminded us he’s still very young in his pro career.