Drew Magary:"11-5. I guess have to talk about things other than The Dump Game, although I don’t really want to. But dammit this is JOURNALISM, and so I must do some journalism at you before I can unleash my Dump Game takes and allow them to flow freely. So lemme squeeze out some useful facts before I get logrollin’.
This team went 14-2 in 2019. Their quarterback was the reigning league MVP. Tom Brady was no longer in the AFC. Everything was in its right place. The Ravens were ready to assume THE THRONE, to WIPE away the competition all in a single MOVEMENT. What happened when they tried?
Taron Johnson, who didn’t even start for Buffalo, snatching a tie ballgame away from Baltimore and running to the other side of the world with it. What a waste.
There’s a backstory to that pick-six, naturally. The Ravens underachieved at 11-5. They got swept by Pittsburgh, with one of those losses coming on a Wednesday because everyone involved got COVID. Their starting corner got COVID and totally played while he was contagious. They got run over by Damien Harris (who) in New England. They got walked off by Derrick Henry at home. They lost three in a row at midseason to blow any chance they had at a division title. They only beat two teams that had a winning record during the regular season and one of them was Cleveland. But when your quarterback can take a poop break midgame—as if ducking out of a conference call—and still beat the Browns, that doesn’t speak well of your competition. No wonder these guys finished… number two?… in the North. No wonder they needed Mike Vrabel to do them a favor in the wild card round and punt a win to them. And no wonder they went to Buffalo the next week, watched their quarterback get concussed into QAnon, and swapped in something called Tyler Huntley on their way to three lousy goddamn points. Whenever this team loses in the playoffs, they put on an offensive display that makes the Jets look like a fireworks factory.
Lamar Jackson... You talk about guys that love getting COVID, this guy loves getting COVID! Can’t get enough of it. Lotta quarterbacks talk a big game about getting COVID, but Lamar Jackson walks the walk. He’s 100 percent dedicated to it. He’s the first player on the ventilator and the last one off. He spends all offseason training for COVID in hospice. He studies the COVID tape harder than any quarterback I’ve ever seen. His lungs are raw, but I see a TON of potential coming from them in terms of mucusability and spotting open COVID spores downfield. And he’s not selfish, either! Every other scout tells me that he’s not just gonna take off with the COVID first chance he gets. He’s gonna spread the wealth around. And if there’s loose COVID on the ground, this guy is diving for it. No hesitation. We’re talking about a true hospital rat. Incredible."