The Baltimore Ravens pulled out a close win on Sunday Night Football, but their quarterback didn’t play too big of a role in the game. According to the latest NFL rumors, Lamar Jackson acknowledged his subpar game and thanked his teammates for carrying him during his poor performance. In other news, Baker Mayfield will remain Cleveland’s starting quarterback, while Ezekiel Elliott plans to play through his current injury.
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NFL Rumors: Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Ezekiel Elliott
Lamar Jackson: “Way To Have My Back”
Lamar Jackson was one of the MVP frontrunners heading into Week 12, but his performance on Sunday Night Football didn’t do anything to help his case. The quarterback completed 20 of his 32 passing attempts for 165 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions, but his team still managed to come away with a 16-10 victory.
Grant Delpit’s 1st #NFL INT comes against Lamar Jackson 🔒@LSUfootball
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 29, 2021
Speaking to reporters after the game, Jackson was clearly unsatisfied with his level of play but gave his teammates all the credit in the world for earning the win.
“I’m ticked off, but I told all of those guys, ‘Man, way to have my back…you played lights out…I just told my team, ‘That’s me. I owe y’all.’”
Jackson chose a good time to have a bad day. Despite the subpar play, the Ravens still managed to pull off the victory and are currently in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the AFC. At 8-3, the Ravens have a half-game lead over the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans. The Patriots still have two matchups against the Buffalo Bills, while the Titans are one of the most banged-up teams in all of football. While it’s far from a sure thing, the Ravens are currently the favorites to earn the AFC’s lone bye week.
Baker Mayfield Will Remain Cleveland Browns Starting Quarterback
2021 has not been nice to Baker Mayfield. After a strong finish to the 2020 campaign, the former first-overall pick has struggled to recapture that magic while battling through a wide series of injuries. He has been one of the least efficient passers in the league, but his head coach is not pondering a change at the quarterback position.
When asked specifically about benching Mayfield, head coach Kevin Stefanski definitively said that “We’re not doing that.”
While Mayfield hasn’t played all that well throughout the season, it’s easy to see that he is not solely responsible for the struggles on this offense. The quarterback himself is clearly not anywhere close to 100% healthy, the weapons are subpar, and right tackle Jack Conklin suffered a serious injury early in Week 12’s contest. At 6-6, the Browns still have a chance to earn a Wild Card spot, so Mayfield will likely remain the starter until the team is mathematically eliminated from the postseason.
Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield showing love after the game 🙌
(via @SNFonNBC)pic.twitter.com/NiEIZKWbiv
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 29, 2021
Ezekiel Elliott Doesn’t Want to Miss Time With Knee Injury
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is currently battling through a pretty serious injury. A few days back, reports surfaced indicating that the Cowboys could give the former first-round pick a week off to ensure a clean bill of health the rest of the way. However, according to Elliott himself, he believed that the week of rest is unnecessary.
“No one has come to me and asked me to rest. If they bring it up to me, I’ve just got to go with what they think is best for the team, and leave it at that…I’ve been dealing with [the injury] for almost two months now. It has gotten a little better, but it does get stiff,” Elliott said while speaking to reporters.
Clearly, Elliott believes that he can play through this injury, but he also acknowledged that backup running back Tony Pollard is capable of handling a full workload. During the same interview, Elliott said that “…I think Tony is a very good back. I don’t think there’s any drop off when I’m not on the field. He’s been doing a hell of a job just stepping up.”
Regardless of who actually plays on Thursday, the Cowboys should be favorites against the New Orleans Saints. CeeDee Lamb should be back on the field, and the Saints offense has struggled to do much of anything without Jameis Winston.
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