Lamar Jackson’s absence in Sunday’s AFC Wild Card game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals was a major talking point as the star quarterback sat out the game as he continued to recover from a PCL sprain in his knee.
Prior to the game, two former dual-threat quarterbacks had very different opinions on whether or not Jackson was making the right decision.
On Saturday, Michael Vick ripped Jackson for not being willing to play, saying the quarterback should just “put a brace on it. Get going. …I played a whole season with a sprained MCL.”
But on Sunday Robert Griffin III fired back at Vick, indirectly criticizing the former quarterback in a tweet defending Jackson’s decision
Griffin was teammates with Jackson for three seasons before he retired but he knows better than anyone the ramifications of playing through a knee injury could do to one’s career.
Yet, some of the criticism toward Jackson came due to the fact that many believed he was only sitting out because he did not want to jeopardize scoring a big contract this offseason as he is set to become a free agent.
Jackson’s teammates dismissed that notion after the game.
“I don’t think you can play like that,” tight end Mark Andrew told reporters, per CBS Sports. “Obviously, like I said, the way that Tyler [Huntley] was playing was very good, and we had a chance to win this game — more than a chance to win this game. I feel like we controlled this game from start to. Finish, and it just didn’t turn out way.”
Ravens defensive back Marlon Humphrey added: “I don’t even know if I should say this, but he’s like limping around the facility. That’s kind of the crazy thing that people don’t see.”
Jackson’s replacement, Tyler Huntley, played well enough to keep the Ravens in the game but his decision to try and go over the top from the 2-yard line to score a touchdown and having the ball knocked loose and returned for a 98-yard Bengals touchdown is what everyone will remember from the game.
Running back J.K. Dobbins was among the most frustrated after the game, arguing he should have gotten the ball and wondered how things would have been different had Jackson played.
“If we’d have had Lamar, we’d have won too,” Dobbins said.
Now, the attention will shift to Jackson’s future with the team and whether or not they will give him an extension or use a non-exclusive franchise tag, which would allow him to negotiate with other teams.