Insider shares interesting theory about Lamar Jackson's playoff record

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson picked up the second Most Valuable Player Award of his career last season. But he still finds himself on the receiving end of criticism because of his 2-4 playoff record and failure to guide the franchise to a Super Bowl appearance. 

For a mailbag published on Thursday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated offered a hypothesis regarding Jackson's lack of postseason success compared to fellow stars such as Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. 

"[A] theory that someone gave me, that I thought was interesting—that quarterbacks who run a lot pay the price in the playoffs," Breer explained. "The idea goes that taking a beating over the course of the year takes a toll on your body, and as such it becomes harder for those sorts of quarterbacks to maintain their mechanics and fundamentals. That, in turn, could affect accuracy at a time in the calendar when the margin for error is the smallest."

StatMuse stats show that no quarterback logged more regular-season rushing attempts from 2018 through this past January than Jackson (875). Meanwhile, Mahomes recorded a total of 367 rushes over that same time. While Mahomes also owns a pair of regular-season MVP trophies, it's more noteworthy as it pertains to Breer's point that the 28-year-old is a three-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP. 

Most recently, Mahomes' Chiefs notched a 17-10 victory over Jackson's Ravens in this year's AFC Championship Game played at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. Jackson missed a total of 11 contests (playoffs included) from Week 1 of the 2021 season through January 2023 due to injury issues. 

"I’m not saying it applies to Jackson," Breer continued. "I don’t know that one way or the other. I just thought it was an interesting theory worth considering." 

As much as the Ravens clearly hope that Jackson will improve amid a second-straight season of working with offensive coordinator Todd Monken, the club also acquired former Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry this offseason. Perhaps Monken and Co. believe Henry taking hits previously absorbed by Jackson will help the signal-caller play at an MVP level during the next postseason tournament.