RUNNING MAN It was a five-yard run like Lamar Jackson had made many times before in the 2019 season The Baltimore Ravens quarterback took the snap extended the ball to the running back but then pulled it back He chose to run it himself Jackson darted around tacklers He weaved his way through the crowd and he took a big hit at the end The run was unspectacular But it was historic With that simple run against the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football Lamar Jackson’s running skills were on display against the Jets in 2019 5 1
Jackson broke the record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback The old record was held by Michael Vick Jackson’s favorite player growing up After 13 games Jackson was just 23 yards short of Vick’s record of 1,039 rushing yards Jackson had rushed for more than 23 yards in all but one game that season so chances were good that he’d break the record against the Jets And he did on the first drive But in the moment Jackson wasn’t thinking about the record He was mad about the big hit he GREAT CONNECTIONS When he got to the National Football League NFL Jackson got to learn from a man who coached Michael Vick James Urban was the quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia when Vick played for the Eagles He later took the same job with the Ravens When Jackson came into the league Vick also reached out to Jackson to offer advice and stay in touch 6
Jackson showed he can do much more than just run as he picked apart the Jets took at the end of the play He went right back to work and stayed focused on beating the Jets And he did it with more than just his legs Jackson went on to throw five touchdown passes in the game It was the third time he’d done that in 2019 Ravens fans had come to expect great things from Jackson no matter how he got it done 7
