Marvin Lewis can rest easy knowing Lamar Jackson learned his lesson last week.
It's still unclear whether Jackson will be filling in for Joe Flacco when the Ravens play the Oakland Raiderson Sunday, but if he does play, don't expect to see a repeat of the sprintastic performance he put on against the Bengals.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Jackson said he wants to make sure the Ravens' wide receivers will get the chance to catch more passes.
"They're not here to block," Jackson said. "You guys know I can throw. ... I ran 27 times [Sunday], even though I didn't try to. We did whatever it took to win. You know, hopefully I'm going to start throwing the ball more. The game plan that's coming up, we're going to be throwing the ball. You'll see."
That might not be the boldest statement in the world coming from a quarterback, especially against an Oakland defense that ranks 26th overall. Still, it seems Jackson is looking to quiet some of the criticism from his first NFL start last week even if he came away a winner.
Jackson rushed for 117 yards in the Ravens' 24-21 victory over the Bengals. He also connected on 13 of 19 passes for 150 yards in what was a solid debut. Lewis was sure to remind the football world after the Bengals' loss that quarterbacks can't run forever in the NFL, but Jackson probably learned that lesson simply by looking at the name underneath his on the depth chart.
With Flacco sitting out Wednesday's practice session because of a nagging hip injury, there's a good chance Jackson could be under center this week. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported earlier this week Flacco might have to sit out until Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons.
"[Bengals players were saying] we're going to hurt you. This is the NFL." Jackson said, per The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec. "I was laughing."
