The Ravens have a new offense this season, and quarterback Lamar Jackson has been a new passer.
Jackson’s completion percentage is at a career-high 74.3 percent this season. That’s a huge increase from his career completion percentage of 63.7 percent before into this season. Jackson is the only quarterback in the NFL who has completed more than 70 percent of his passes in all four games of this season.
Jackson’s interceptions are also down this year, as he’s thrown just one pick in 105 passes, or an interception rate of just under 1 percent. Before this season, Jackson’s career completion rate was 2.3 percent.
New Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken deserves a lot of credit for the way Jackson’s play has changed. When Monken became the Ravens’ offensive coordinator in February, he revealed his six pillars for a successful offense, and No. 1 was, “Don’t turn it over.” Monken is taking a more cautious approach to the passing game, and it’s working.
The down side to the more cautious approach is that Jackson isn’t making as many big plays down field. His average yards per completion this season is 10.2, down from his career average of 11.6 yards per completion before this season.
Monken also has Jackson running the ball a little less (55.0 yards per game, Jackson’s lowest per-game average since becoming the Ravens’ starter as a rookie), although “a little less” for Jackson still means leading all NFL quarterbacks with 220 rushing yards this season.
The 3-1 Ravens are in first place in the AFC North, and if they beat the Steelers on Sunday they’ll have wins over all three division rivals and will be the clear favorites in the division. Thanks to Jackson’s play in Monken’s offense.