Baltimore Ravens: Can Lamar Jackson sustain hot start to 2019?

Lamar Jackson has gotten off to a blistering start in year two with the Baltimore Ravens. But can the quarterback sustain this success throughout 2019?

Lamar Jackson has had quite the start to his 2019 season at the helm of the Baltimore Ravens. Through two games and as many wins, the second-year quarterback has thrown for 596 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 71.9 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 145.2.

It’s been quite a turnaround from his rookie year, where he completed just 58 percent of his passes in seven games starting for the Ravens. The leaps he’s taken in the passing game in 2019 (so far) have certainly exceeded expectations. If he can sustain these kinds of numbers in the passing game, we might very well be looking at a legitimate MVP candidate leading a Super Bowl contender in the near future.

Granted, we have to take into consideration that Jackson has played the Dolphins and Cardinals in his first two games of the season.

Arizona has a lot to look forward to with Kyler Murray at quarterback, but defensively, they’re hobbling along right now. They’re a rebuilding group outside of Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs that’s also dealing with Patrick Peterson‘s suspension. Miami, meanwhile, is a team in shambles, perhaps by design. I suspect many (if not every) quarterbacks that face the Dolphins this year will have quite a bit of success.

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Given those two matchups, Jackson’s efforts aren’t exactly a monumental feat that we’ll look back on in awe. But even against two lesser opponents, does that mean what Jackson has done should go unnoticed? Absolutely not.

So far this season, Jackson has found his groove primarily with connections to rookie Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in the deep passing game and with his reliable tight end, Mark Andrews.

Brown, though he’s only played a total of 64 snaps this year (just 41.83 percent of Baltimore’s total offensive snaps), already has 12 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He exploded for 147 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions in Week 1 but then followed it up with eight grabs for 86 yards against Arizona while seeing an uptick in snaps.

Andrews, on the other hand, has provided Jackson with more volume in the passing game. The tight end has eight catches in each of the first two games for 220 yards total and two scores. Like Brown, Andrews hasn’t played a crazy amount of snaps (73 total, 47.71 percent of offensive snaps) When on the field, though, Andrews has dominated one-on-one matchups to provide Jackson with a terrific safety blanket.

Keep an eye on Andrews moving forward. If he continues to forge this strong connection with Jackson, he could find himself among the elite tight ends in the NFL like Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz and George Kittle.

But the question now is if Jackson can keep up his early-season success. Brown has helped eliminate any accuracy issues with his great speed while Andrews has been dominant in getting open and making plays. And again, this has come against two softer defenses. Even still, the second-year quarterback has been highly impressive.

Perhaps Lamar Jackson reverts a bit to his performance as a rookie, heavily relying on his rushing ability and having issues with accuracy resurface. Or maybe he continues to progress and develop as a complete passer.

What’s certain, though, is that Jackson wins games. He’s 8-2 as a starter for the Ravens as he leads Baltimore into a revenge game against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team he almost beat in Week 14 last season, at Arrowhead Stadium. And it’ll be thrilling to see where Lamar Jackson goes from here.