No one had a more impressive, more dominant and, to some, more surprising season opener than Lamar Jackson.
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback turned the Miami Dolphins defense into formless blubber on Sunday afternoon, throwing for 324 yards and five touchdowns in a 59-10 romp over Miami. Jackson earned a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
Seen by many as a run-first quarterback, Jackson proved Sunday that he has the arm talent to match his ground game.
"Not bad for a running back," Jackson joked with reporters after the victory. "But yeah, offensive line did a great job. I barely had pressure. Receivers did a great job of getting open, catching the ball, scoring touchdowns. That's what it's all about, and that's what we did today."
As a rookie last season, Jackson never even sniffed this type of production through the air. The Ravens QB's previous career high was 204 passing yards and two touchdown passes (in separate games). He had just six touchdown passes all of last regular season and nearly eclipsed that total in the 2019 season opener.
On the ground, Jackson was a non-factor (three rushes, six yards) but he didn't need to be. New Ravens acquisition Mark Ingram racked up 107 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts, with Gus Edwards and Justice Hill contributing as well.
The major beneficiary of Jackson's spectacular afternoon was a fellow first-rounder, receiver Marquise Brown. "Hollywood" had been hampered by injuries all offseason and preseason but looked more than healthy in Miami, corralling four passes for 147 yards and two scores. Brown looked at home on the end of his quarterback's pinpoint deep heaves and said he was not at all surprised that Jackson was capable of such an outing.
"You hear the talk and I knew just from when I got here, I was like I don't know what people have been talking about," Brown said. "He looks pretty good to me. I'm glad he got here and showed people what he can do."
It's just one week and Jackson's breakout aerial assault came against a Dolphins team that could be bound for a top-five draft pick. But after an offseason filled with anticipation for a more vertical, diverse Ravens attack, the early returns for Jackson and Baltimore are promising to say the least.
