In Week 13 of the 2024 campaign, Jackson rushed eight times for 79 yards in the Ravens’ 24–19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, much of that performance came in the final minutes when the star quarterback scored on a 39-yard run with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.
During a press conference after the game, Jackson shared that his mother often scolded him for not using his legs. He admitted at the time, “Yes, my mother just told me this. She scolded me, so I’m angry.”
“She said there were certain lanes I should walk and run on, but I was trying to let people develop the path.”
As the old saying goes, mother is always right. Jackson admitted, “We had developing routes. I was just trying to go through my progressions.”
“I’m sorry about that. I’m just mad, because I think we should win these games, and we’re not able to do that.”
Despite the criticism, Jackson still performed admirably – completing 23 of 36 passes for 237 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. However, given that the Ravens lost, he acknowledged that it was not enough.
“I’ll always put myself on the front line, whether I played well or not,” Jackson said. “I played OK, but yes. I’m just disappointed, because we left things on that field – me (and) everybody.
“It’s a team game, and there’s no ‘I’ in team. They were a very good team, don’t get me wrong, but I think we left things there. We should have put more points on the board.”
Jackson has also struggled to replicate his trademark breakout success this season, at times seeming to lack the explosiveness or willingness to hurl himself off the ball.
Prior to the Ravens’ Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, his 5.75 rushing attempts per game represented a career-low figure, nearly four carries less than his career average of 9.55.
A large part of Jackson’s difficulties can be traced to the increasing health problems he has been dealing with in recent weeks. Over the past month, the 28-year-old has been dealing with ankle and toe problems, as well as knee troubles, which have limited his practice participation.
Speaking about his decreased race numbers and less explosive ability earlier this month, Jackson said: “I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I don’t really pay attention to my race numbers.
“We have Derrick Henry, Keaton Mitchell, Justice (Hill) and Rasheen Ali; we have all these guys running the ball — and sometimes Zay (Flowers) — so, as long as we’re winning, I don’t really worry about it.”
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