For the third year in a row, Lamar Jackson’s season ended in disappointment. Jackson was fortunate enough last weekend to win his first playoff game, but it probably doesn’t feel like much after the way the team went out on Saturday.
Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens lost 17-3 to the Buffalo Bills. Not only were they held to just three points in the windy conditions, but then Jackson suffered a concussion late in the third quarter.
Jackson was feeling well enough after the game where players felt they could talk about the quarterback. Teammate Willie Snead IV thinks the loss will motivate Jackson and serve as a “wakeup call.”
That’s the exact tune we heard after the Ravens went 14-2 in the regular season last season before getting knocked out in the playoffs by the Titans. Jackson spent the offseason working on his game to turn his fortunes. Maybe next season they’ll end up in the conference championship if Jackson progresses round-by-round.
A fan went viral on Saturday night for their terrible Josh Allen poster.
NBC showed the poster during the Buffalo Bills’ AFC Divisional Round playoff game with the Baltimore Ravens. The design was a rendition of the “Hope” poster, but it did not look very much like Allen.
Many people noted the poster looked a lot more like former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo than Allen.
Even if the poster was funny looking, there’s nothing funny about Allen or the Bills. Buffalo is in the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 1993. And Allen has shown he is the real deal with an MVP-like season.
UPDATE: The creators of the poster have put the design on some merchandise like T-shirts and plan to donate many of the proceeds to charity. You can see it here.
Justin Tucker is arguably the greatest kicker in NFL history, so it’s nothing short of shocking when he misses a kick. On Saturday, he missed two of them, which left him stunned.
Tucker missed a 41-yard field goal attempt on the Baltimore Ravens’ first possession against the Buffalo Bills in their AFC Divisional Round playoff game.
A few possessions later, after the Bills missed a field goal, Tucker missed a 46-yard kick.
Tucker couldn’t believe it, and his stunned reaction resulted in a meme.
Tucker only missed three field goals (26/29) in the regular season and one extra point (52/53). However, this gave him three missed field goals in just two playoff games this year. That’s rough.
Wayne Ellington got one heck of a tribute tattoo to Kobe Bryant.
Ellington, who is in his second stint with the Detroit Pistons, got a tattoo of Kobe’s Black Mamba logo on his left thigh. The logo also has Kobe’s face on it.
The detail on the work is excellent.
Kobe tribute tattoos became extremely popular following the former Los Angeles Lakers star’s death last year. LeBron James got one in the days following Kobe’s death (seen here), and Anthony Davis got one as well (here). Ellington’s is much better than both of theirs.
Lamar Jackson was sent to the locker room late in the third quarter of his Baltimore Ravens’ AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.
Jackson had a snap sail over his head on a second down with his team down 17-3. He picked up the ball and tried to get rid of it but ended up with an intentional grounding penalty. He also got hit and knocked down in the end zone.
Jackson was down on the ground after the hit and was taken to the locker room. The team said he was in concussion protocol.
Jackson’s offense was hardly producing prior to his injury. He was 14/24 for 162 yards and threw a pick-six that changed the game.
Tyler Huntley entered the game for the Ravens after Jackson’s injury.
Lamar Jackson picked the worst possible time to throw his first ever red zone interception.
Jackson was intercepted on a 3rd-and-goal play in the third quarter of Saturday’s AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills. Taron Johnson made the interception a yard deep in the end zone and returned it 101 yards for a touchdown.
The interception plus extra point made it 17-3 Buffalo over Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens.
Prior to that interception, Jackson had 49 touchdowns and no interceptions in his career in the red zone.
That pick-six also marked the third 100-plus yard pick-six in playoff history.
Aaron Donald got very emotional at the end of his Los Angeles Rams’ loss to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.
Donald’s Rams fell behind from the start and lost 32-18 in the Divisional Round playoff game. Donald was at limited strength and ability due to a ribs injury he suffered the previous week while tackling Russell Wilson.
Donald’s inability to play at his best likely weighed on his emotions as the team’s season came to an end.
Donald only played limited snaps and had just one tackle.
When he’s not playing injured, Donald is arguably the best and most disruptive defensive player in the game. The Rams’ defense just wasn’t the same without him, and he knows it.
Pam Oliver is one of the most accomplished sideline reporters to have covered the NFL, which is why fans were concerned when she did not sound like herself on Saturday.
Oliver was assigned to cover the NFC Divisional Round playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams. Usually an extremely sharp reporter, Oliver’s speech was staggered.
In a postgame interview with Aaron Jones, Oliver’s speech was unclear.
Viewers noticed that right away that Oliver did not sound right.
Fans were similarly concerned during the fall when ESPN’s Todd McShay did not sound right on air, so this isn’t the first time we’ve seen something similar.
There was some speculation that Oliver was affected by the cold in Green Bay. But Kristina Pink, who was also reporting from the sideline, sounds like her normal self, and the temperatures were above freezing. Let’s hope all is well with Oliver, who is 59 and has been with FOX for over 25 years.
Urban Meyer’s move to the Jacksonville Jaguars will carry a lot of repercussions. Some of them may involve members of Ryan Day’s staff at Ohio State.
Many of those on Day’s staff are holdovers from the Meyer era at Ohio State, and some of them have ties to Meyer even going back to their Florida days. That raises the question of whether the incoming Jaguars coach will return to the Buckeyes and poach some of the names he knows well.
For now, there’s no clear answer. Bill Rabinowitz of Buckeye Xtra reported that Mickey Marotti, the Buckeyes’ strength and conditioning coach, who has known Meyer since they were students at Cincinnati, will remain at Ohio State. Mariotti had worked closely with Meyer at Florida and Ohio State, so there had been some thinking he may be tempted to move to Jacksonville.
Less clear are the futures of some other key staff members with close ties to Meyer. Assistant athletic director for player development Ryan Stamper played for Meyer at Florida, and is actually a Jacksonville native. Mark Pantoni, who runs the Buckeyes’ vaunted recruiting department, is also a Florida native who has worked for Meyer since their Gator days. There were no immediate hints about whether they would follow Meyer to Jacksonville, or if they’d even be offered the opportunity.
Rabinowitz does report that Ohio State does not expect many members of its athletic staff to leave for the Jaguars.
The expectation is that the vast majority of Meyer’s staff will be filled from elsewhere. For instance, Meyer has already added one big name to his staff who has no ties to Ohio State.
Steve Nash will have a tough task ahead trying to coach the Brooklyn Nets.
Nash is in his first season ever as a head coach. Not only did he have to manage the odd personality of Kyrie Irving, but his job just got tougher. The Nets now have James Harden to go along with Kevin Durant and Irving. Harden is known for dominating the ball offensively, while Irving and Durant all expect to get plenty of shots.
So when the Nets acquired Harden, many made the same joke about what Nash’s job would be like coaching the Nets. Beware that this funny video clip has foul language.
Having talent is a necessary starting point to winning a championship. Having too much talent and personalities makes it very challenging for a coach to manage things.
Best of luck to Nash, who has talked about how he will handle things.
