From The Banner · Kyle Goon · · 2m
Lamar Jackson makes the noise disappear
Eight months of takes about Lamar Jackson evaporate the second he escapes a collapsed pocket.
In brief
Eight months of takes about Lamar Jackson evaporate the second he escapes a collapsed pocket. The arguments about Jackson's ranking and contract will fade from memory. The plays won't. Originally reported by The Banner.
He still surprises you
You can watch hundreds of Jackson snaps and swear you'll never underestimate him again. The next highlight gets you anyway.
“It's the damndest thing.”
The escape nobody explains
Buried under Arden Key and DeForest Buckner, squeezed between his own linemen, Jackson emerged and took off. Slow motion replay doesn't reveal how.
Third and 16, converted
He didn't just avoid the sack. He weaved past blockers for one of the least likely third-and-16 conversions the sport has produced.
Even the veterans gawk
Calais Campbell is 40 and has seen everything football offers. From the sideline he could only ask what he had just watched.
“It was like, 'What just happened? How do you get it there?' How many people can actually do that? There's not many.”
The offseason cage
Jackson's real annual escape act starts at kickoff. Every winter he gets locked into the same loop of questions about his ability, his ceiling and his future.
“If the offseason is Lamar Jackson's hell, the season itself is a kind of heaven.”
He erased a messy day
The line gave spotty protection and drew a pile of flags. The receiver room was gutted by injuries. He still hit practice squad receiver Chris Moore for 53 yards.
Derrick Henry defers
Henry ran for 144 yards and three scores in the 41-23 win over the Colts, then pointed at his quarterback as the best player in football.
“I know what Lamar's about. You all have seen it. He just keeps showing you.”
The columnist confesses
Goon admits he helps run the take machine he resents, chewing on rankings, Super Bowl odds, and his own white whale: whether Jackson ever signs an extension in Baltimore.
Awe beats analysis
Watch him hold the pocket with Jaylon Carlies bearing down, then fire past the blitz to Zay Flowers for 54 yards and a score. The urge to argue just stops.
“all that's left is awe”
Only the plays survive
When Jackson's career is over, the debates will vanish from memory. The Sunday afternoons are the part we'll actually miss.
“These moments we get to see now, every Sunday, will be the only ones we'll remember well enough to miss.”
What matters most
The arguments about Jackson's ranking and contract will fade from memory. The plays won't.
