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Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson is off to a hot start, on the ground at least. The former Louisville Cardinal got the first start of his career on Sunday and wasted no time breaking the franchise’s single game record for rushing yards by a quarterback, racking up 75 yards on 11 carries.
With that carry, @Lj_era8 has 75 rushing yards today, the most in a game by a #Ravens QB. (Previous best was 65 by Tyrod Taylor on 12/30/12 at Cincy.)
— Patrick Gleason (@PMGleason) November 18, 2018
It was previously held by Tyrod Taylor, who rang up 65 yards against Cincinnati Bengals back in Week 17 of 2012 [PFR]. Jackson had over half of that by the time his first series was over, orchestrating a touchdown drive in which he had five rushes for 46 yards.
This is part of what the exciting young Heisman trophy winner was brought in to do, and while he had stressed throughout the pre-draft process that he’s an equally skilled passer, it’s good to see him and the coaching staff embracing the full gamut of his abilities. His athleticism and escape-ability is among the most electrifying in the entire league, and more drives like the first one against the Bengals will ensure that we’ll be seeing much more exciting offensive play than we’ve been used to in Baltimore maybe ever.
We’ll see how he continues to progress throughout the year, but notching a club record in your first start at QB is a nice pelt for Lamar’s wall to start things out. Here’s to many, many more over the next several years.