Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Ravens' Lamar Jackson goes on rant about issues with deep passes

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 11/15/23

Before the 2023 season began, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson felt pretty good about the potential of the team’s passing attack after revamping the wide receiver room and adding offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

But 10 games into the year, the Ravens have been coming up short when they’ve tried to go long.

Jackson let it be known he’s frustrated with how much Baltimore struggles with the deep ball, pointing to a specific moment in Sunday’s 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns in which he and rookie Zay Flowers couldn’t connect on a deep pass that would have likely put the Ravens up 24-6 instead of having the drive end with a field goal blocked.

Lamar Jackson to Zay Flowers sheesh pic.twitter.com/vnSehPlUC6
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 13, 2023

“I mean, it’s right there,” Jackson said, via the team’s official website. “I'm p-ssed off about it to be honest with you. I watched the game, and it's like it might be a difference in the game if we connect with that one. Can't dwell on it. Hopefully this Thursday we catch them when we want them, we have success with the deep ball, we connect and have chemistry there.”

Per Pro Football Focus, Jackson ranks 26th among qualified QBs in completion percentage (31.4%) on deep passes of 20 yards or more this season. He’s also tied for the 10th-fewest completions on deep passes (11). In the loss to the Browns, Jackson had just three such completions.

Jackson’s completion percentage on deep passes is drastically lower than it is for any other distance — 10-19 yards (72.9%), 0-9 yards (77.9%), behind the line of scrimmage (95.7%).

“I believe (the big-play ability is) there — in practice we do it all the time,” Jackson added. “Those guys catch the ball down the field 40 yards, 50 yards down the field. We need to transition that over to the games, that's all.”

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