It’s safe to say Stephen A. Smith wasn’t impressed with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s performance in Sunday’s AFC title game.
Jackson did throw for 272 yards and rushed for another 54, but the Ravens' offense mustered just 10 total points in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Jackson fumbled in the first half and threw a costly red zone interception in the second half, key mistakes that stopped Baltimore from breaking through offensively. That’s why Smith called Jackson’s performance a “choke job” during critical comments on Monday’s episode of First Take.
“[Patrick] Mahomes is great, he’s phenomenal, he’s the greatest ever… but the big story is Lamar Jackson,” Smith said. “Ladies and gentlemen, with all due respect, this was a choke job. Let’s just call it what it is. What is the definition of a choke job? It’s doing what you always do, what you’re accustomed to doing, until the moment arrives, and then you don’t. That is the definition of what we’re talking about over here.”
"The big story is Lamar Jackson. Ladies and gentlemen, with all due respect: It was a choke job. Let's just call it what it is."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 29, 2024
Stephen A. Smith sounded OFF on the potential MVP after the Ravens' loss to the Chiefs in the AFC championship game ????pic.twitter.com/igjHwWTlan
Ouch.
Jackson is now just 2–4 in the playoffs in his career. Sunday's yardage total was his second-highest in a postseason game, but Jackson has now completed under 60% of his passes in all four career playoff losses. And given how dominant the Ravens were in the regular season, one of the favorites for league MVP coming up short in a big game against another elite quarterback is a mark on the Baltimore QB’s résumé.
