OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson has run the ball more than any other quarterback in his first five starts in the Super Bowl era, but coach John Harbaugh isn’t worried about the Baltimore Ravens rookie first-round pick’s rushing attempts.
“I think that’s all going to work out over time,” Harbaugh said.
Jackson has run the ball 86 times, which is more than double the number of carries any other quarterback has since Week 11. The downside is Jackson has taken contact 82 times, which is 31 more than any other quarterback.
He had 18 carries in Sunday’s 20-12 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Harbaugh made the point that Jackson knelt three times to run out the remaining seconds of the win, so the number of rushing attempts is inflated.
“I think when you look at all that stuff, take it into account,” Harbaugh said. “But to me, over time, that will sort itself out.”
Most of Jackson’s workload has come on called run plays. Of his 566 yards rushing, 483 of those are the result of designed runs — which is 200 more than any other quarterback.
Jackson, the Ravens’ leading rusher, has been one of the most productive runners since replacing Joe Flacco as the team’s starter. His 427 yards rushing trails only Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Ezekiel Elliott and teammate Gus Edwards over the past five weeks.
The one area where Jackson has to improve is ball security. He has fumbled an NFL-worst seven times (losing three) as a starter, including coughing it up once in each of the past six games.
“They’ve all been different fumbles,” Harbaugh said. “The common thread is that we need to secure the football in different situations.”
Source : ESPN
