After being selected 32nd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, Lamar Jackson made it his mission to make the 31 teams that passed on him pay for doing so…and it took him just three seasons to make NFL history.
With 97 rushing yards in Sunday’s season finale, Jackson finished 2020 with 1,005 yards on the ground – becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to have 1,000 yards or more rushing in back-to-back seasons.
Jackson’s record rush came with 8:11 left in the third quarter of the Ravens’ 38-3 win over Cincinnati, as he scampered for seven yards on a 3rd-and-6. That was his 11th and final rush of the day, as Baltimore scored seven plays later, and Jackson left the game after the Ravens’ next drive, which saw JK Dobbins scamper 72 yards for a TD on the second play.
Even more impressive: Jackson finished with those 1,005 yards on 159 carries, meaning a 6.32 yards per carry average, and scored seven rushing touchdowns.
Jackson and Michael Vick are the only two quarterbacks with 1,000 yards rushing in a season; Vick ran for 1,039 yards in 2006 with Atlanta, and Jackson set the QB record with 1,206 yards and a league-leading 6.9 yards per carry last season.
The reigning NFL MVP was the fifth and final QB chosen in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and the group has been a mixed bag so far. This season, No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield helped Cleveland end their playoff drought and No. 7 pick Josh Allen set a Bills single-season passing record, but No. 3 pick Sam Darnold has been much-maligned in New York and No. 10 pick Josh Rosen has been with four organizations in three seasons.
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